Active clinical trials for "Graves Ophthalmopathy"

Thyroid eye disease (TED) is an autoimmune inflammation of the orbital tissues that develops in up to 50% of patients with Graves' disease. Although about 80% respond to IVGC initially, the relapse rate is high and about 75% require further surgery despite initial response. Although the natural history of TED is associated with spontaneous remissions after about 1 to 3 years, many irreversible serious ophthalmic and orbital complications can arise during this time. Therefore, there is a need for improved intervention strategies in the early active inflammatory phase of TED, to avoid progression to the cicatricial stage where disease manifestations can only be addressed in a rehabilitative fashion. The primary immunopathogenesis of Graves' disease is considered to be activation of B cells that then produce autoantibody against thyrotropin receptors in the thyroid (TRAb). Like in many autoimmune diseases, the inflammatory CD4+ T cell subset known as Th17 cells is also increased in blood of patients with active Graves' disease; the putative Th17 cytokine, IL-17, is also increased in serum and tears of TED patients. There is also an emerging pathogenic role for Th17 cells that co-express the chemokine receptor CXCR5 and drive autoantibody production. The contribution of Th17 cells to TED is not well defined. This study is an observational, longitudinal, prospective study of patients receiving treatment for thyroid eye disease.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of subantimicrobial dose doxycycline (50 mg/d), administered for 12 weeks, on patients with mild Thyroid-Associated Ophthalmopathy (TAO).

Patients with Thyroid Eye Disease (TED) often have enlarged extraocular muscles and higher orbital fat contents due to their disease process. The confined space of the orbit cannot hold the enlarged orbital contents creating a forward displacement and/or compression of the globe with a rise in intraocular pressure (IOP). Many of these patients undergo surgical decompression, a procedure that fractures orbital bones, in order to allow more space for the enlarged orbital contents to occupy. To date, there is no data that shows intraocular patterns over a 24-hour period in patients with mechanical compression on the globe as in TED. It is not know if the pattern of IOP is more consistent with normal IOP patterns, glaucomatous patterns, or perhaps completely different then either. The goal of this project is to investigate patterns of IOP in patients requiring orbital decompression because of orbital congestion. Changes in IOP during a 24-hour period will be studied with a contact-lens embedded sensor that provides continuous data. This device has previously been investigated and shown to be safe and well-tolerated. Monitoring the pattern in these patients will allow us to compare Thyroid TED patterns of IOP with those of normal and glaucomatous patients. Also, testing these patients before and after orbital decompression surgery will allow characterization of how intraocular pressure changes once the mechanical compression on the globe is relieved.

The aim of the study is to compare the measurements of retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL), macula and optical disc parameters obtained by optical coherence tomography (OCT), and intraocular pressure (IOP) between the patients with thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO) and healthy controls.

Graves' Orbitopathy (GO) is a disabling and disfiguring condition associated with Graves' Disease, due to autoimmunity against antigens expressed by the thyroid and orbital tissues, and resulting in orbital fibroblast proliferation and release of glycosaminoglycans. The current treatments available, especially glucocorticoids, are not effective in all patients. Two cases of patients with GO treated with Sirolimus have been reported with an excellent response to the drug. The rationale for the use of Sirolimus lies in its mechanisms of action. Sirolimus is able to inhibit T-cell activation as well as fibroblast proliferation. In addition, acts indirectly on the Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1) pathway, and recent clinical trials have shown that a monoclonal antibody against the IGF-1 receptor (Teprotumumab) is effective in patients with GO. Thus, Sirolimus could be used in GO as monotherapy in patients with GO. The aim of the present drug vs standard treatment, observational study is to evaluate the efficacy of Sirolimus as a second-line treatment in patients with moderately severe, active GO.

Graves orbitopathy (GO) is an inflammatory eye disease associated in 95% of patients with Graves' hyperthyroidism (GH), in ~3-4% with hypothyroid autoimmune thyroiditis, and in ~1-2% with thyroid autoimmunity in the absence of thyroid dysfunction, the former known as euthyroid GO. The pathogenesis of GO is autoimmune, with the TSH-receptor being considered the major autoantigen, thereby establishing a pathogenetic link between the thyroid and orbital tissue. Thus, TSH-receptor is expressed by orbital fibroblasts, where it forms a complex with the IGF-1 receptor. Unlike GH, which is notoriously caused by TSH-receptor stimulating autoantibodies, GO is believed to reflect cell-mediated autoimmunity, as suggested by studies showing a Th1-like pattern of cytokine release by primary cultures of orbital infiltrating lymphocytes from GO patients. On the other hand, a role of B lymphocytes has emerged in recent years based on the observation that the anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody rituximab has a beneficial effect on GO activity, as demonstrated by a recent randomized clinical trial in which rituximab was compared with intravenous glucocorticoids (GC), being the former the standard treatment of moderately-severe GO. The explanation for the findings was that B lymphocytes are involved in the pathogenesis of GO as antigen-presenting cells. However, in spite of the above mentioned promising observations, another randomized clinical trial in which rituximab was compared with placebo provided opposite results. Thus, rituximab had no effect at all on GO. Data from the two studies were confronted and major differences between the two cohorts emerged, especially concerning GO activity, leading to the conclusion that rituximab may be effective for active, but not for inactive GO. Rituximab has been employed also for autoimmune diseases other than GO, including type 1 diabetes. In the former, it was shown that the effectiveness of rituximab paralleled the presence of CD20-positive infiltrating lymphocytes in pancreas islets. We therefore postulated that something similar may occur in GO, because of which we planned the present, perspective, observational study, aimed at determining the presence and immunohistochemical features of lymphocytes infiltrating orbital tissues in patients with GO and to relate them with the clinical features of GO.

Thyroid eye disease is an autoimmune disorder affecting approximately 50% of individuals with autoimmune thyroid diseases resulting in enlargement of ocular muscles and may lead to congestion of the eyelids and ocular surface, ocular movement restriction and double vision, and optic nerve compression and loss of vision. First line medical therapy is oral or intravenous corticosteroids (CS), which several studies have shown results in reduction of soft tissue congestion, but some studies suggesting that ocular restriction or visual loss may still occur in spite of CS therapy.i External beam radiotherapy (XRT) is second line therapy but is controversial, with some studies suggesting benefit in preventing onset of double vision or optic nerve compression while other studies suggest it has no benefit. Most proponents of XRT for TED believe that it is most effective early in the disease evolution. XRT has been shown to be a safe therapy with few side-effects, although retinopathy changes have developed in a small percentage of diabetics and its use is avoided for diabetics. Combined oral prednisone and XRT has been shown to be more effective in reducing soft tissue inflammation and motility complications than either monotherapy in two different studies. To date there have been no trials comparing combined XRT and iv CS with iv CS alone for early progressive TED to identify potential benefit in reducing the severity of motility disorders or preventing the onset of dysthyroid optic neuropathy. That is the purpose of this study.

Hypertension is common side effect of Cushing Syndrome (CS): in patients with endogenous CS and those treated with glucocorticosteroids (GCs). The impact of the intravenous GCs therapy on blood pressure (BP) remains unclear. According to the European Group On Graves' Orbitopathy (EUGOGO), patients with active, severely symptomatic and sight-threatening Graves' orbitopathy (GO) should be treated with high dose intravenous methylprednisolone (IVMP) pulses. There are, however, reports of fatal side effects that may be associated with this therapy (e.g.: pulmonary embolism, myocardial infarction, severe cerebrovascular events, acute liver damage and sudden death). For this reason, the cumulative dose of IVMP should not exceed 8 g within each treatment course, and pulses should not be given on consecutive or alternate days, except for the case of dysthyroid optic neuropathy. A consensus on the monitoring of patients during and after IVMP pulse administration is not yet established. What is more, there is lack of paper regarding pattern of blood pressure at various time points during and after ivGCs administration. Thus, the investigators decided to evaluate acute changes of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) as a marker of hemodynamic stress and to monitor BP before, during and after IVMP pulse administration. All of patients were treated routinely according to EUGOGO recommendations with standard doses of methylprednisolone with standard recommended schedule. Inclusion criterion for the therapy was according to EUGOGO guidelines active, moderate-to-severe and active GO (12 pulses of IVMP 6x0.5g followed by 6x0.25g every week).

The study is aimed at assessing IGF-1R-Abs in patients with Graves' disease, with or without GO, compared with healthy subjects and patients with autoimmune thyroiditis in a cross-sectional investigation.

The alterations of coagulation and fibrinolysis parameters have been described in patients with endogenous Cushing's syndrome (CS) and those treated with glucocorticosteroids (GCs). The change in hemostatic process is associated with an increased risk of venous thromboembolic events (VTE) and pulmonary embolism (PE). Anticoagulation prophylaxis reduces thromboembolic complications in endogenous and exogenous hypercortisolism. The impact of the intravenous GCs therapy on hypercoagulability, however, remains unclear and perplexing. According to the European Group On Graves' Orbitopathy (EUGOGO), patients with active, severely symptomatic and sight-threatening Graves' orbitopathy (GO) should be treated with high dose intravenous methylprednisolone (IVMP) pulses. There are, however, reports of fatal side effects that may be associated with this therapy (e.g.: PE, myocardial infarction, severe cerebrovascular events, acute liver damage and sudden death). For this reason, the cumulative dose of IVMP should not exceed 8 g within each treatment course, and pulses should not be given on consecutive or alternate days, except for the case of dysthyroid optic neuropathy. Nevertheless, even smaller cumulative therapy may be associated with fatal cardiovascular complications. Hence the aim of our study was to evaluate the effects of IVMP therapy on hemostatic process in patients with GO. All of patients were treated according to EUGOGO recommendations with standard doses of methylprednisolone with standard recommended schedule. Inclusion criterion for the therapy was according to EUGOGO guidelines moderate-to-severe and active GO (12 pulses of IVMP 6x0.5g followed by 6x0.25g every week).