Orbital gallium-67 scintigraphy in Graves' ophthalmopathy: a disease activity parameter that predicts the therapeutic response to immunosuppressive treatment

Predictive markers for anti-inflammatory treatment response in thyroid eye disease

Anti-inflammatory treatment is the primary and vital therapeutic approach for active, moderate-to-severe thyroid eye disease (TED). Accurate pretreatment prediction of treatment response is of paramount importance for the prognosis of patients. However, relying solely on the clinical activity score asa determinant of activity has led to unsatisfactory treatment outcomes. In recent years, significant advancements have been made in identifying predictive markers for anti-inflammatory treatment response in TED, clinical markers, body fluid biomarkers and imaging biomarkers. Several clinical studies have developed prediction models based on these markers. However, there is still a lack of comprehensive elucidation or comparison between the different markers. Therefore, this review aims to provide a detailed analysis of the definition, characteristics, and application of predictive markers for anti-inflammatory treatment response in TED. Through detailed literature search, 26 articles applying anti-inflammatory treatment effect prediction with a total of 1948 TED patients were used for analysis and discussion. By gaining a better understanding of the current research on predictive markers, we can accelerate and guide the exploration of treatment prediction strategies, leading us towards an era of precise therapy for TED.

Thermal Imaging of the Ocular Surface in Thyroid Eye Disease: A Comparison between Active, Inactive and Healthy Eyes

Aim: To report the temperature differences on the ocular surface using infrared thermal imaging (TI) in thyroid eye disease (TED) and healthy eyesMethods: Prospective, consecutive, comparative case series comparing TI parameters between active and inactive TED with healthy controls. The data captured included baseline demography, activity of TED and the TI parameters. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUROC) were calculated for the temperature values to determine the sensitivity and specificity in distinguishing active from inactive TED. The Youden index and the predictor cut off values were also reported.Results: The study included 11 eyes with active TED, 46 eyes with inactive TED and 40 eyes healthy patients. Temperatures of pre-determined points on the ocular surface in degrees were compared between the three groups. Temperature at the caruncle, medial and lateral conjunctiva was noted to be significantly higher in the active TED group compared to inactive TED and healthy eyes. The most favorable Youden index (0.7) was noted for the caruncle with an AUROC value of 0.91, a sensitivity of 91% and a specificity of 79%. Correlation coefficient for the caruncular temperature with the corresponding CAS (clinical activity score) was 0.65 (95% C.I. 0.45 to 0.78, p < .0001).Conclusion: Thermal imaging in TED is an objective way of documenting surface inflammation by the surrogate marker of temperature change. It supplements CAS in clinically evident cases and could be useful in staging eyes with subtle clinical signs as well as those where signs have reduced following initiation of treatment.

Real-time ultrasound elastographic evaluation of extraocular muscle involvement in Graves' ophthalmopathy

Purpose: To evaluate the affected extraocular muscles (EOMs) of patients with Graves' ophthalmopathy (GO) using real-time ultrasound elastography (UE) and to compare these results with those of healthy subjects.Methods: This prospective, comparative case series included 70 eyes of 35 patients with moderate-to-severe GO with type 2 orbitopathy (myogenic variant) according to their computed tomography (CT) scans. Forty-six eyes of 23 healthy subjects were evaluated as the control group. The strain ratio of orbital fat to medial rectus was calculated as the ratio of the medial rectus to orbital fat tissue, and the strain ratio of orbital fat to lateral rectus was calculated as the ratio of lateral rectus to orbital fat tissue.Results: The strain ratio of orbital fat to medial rectus was 3.03 ± 1.25 (range: 1.05-5.07) in the GO group, and 0.54 ± 0.20 (range: 0.14-1.08) in the control group (p = .0001). The strain ratio of orbital fat to lateral rectus was 0.97 ± 0.29 (range: 0.56-1.55) in the GO group, and 0.63 ± 0.23 (range: 0.18-1.09) in the control group (p = .0001).Conclusion: By using real-time UE, we found the medial and the lateral recti of GO patients to be stiffer compared to those of healthy subjects.

Choroidal thickness in thyroid-associated orbitopathy

IMPORTANCE

To investigate the choroidal thickness (CT) in patients with thyroid-associated orbitopathy (TAO).

BACKGROUND

To compare CT of TAO patients and healthy subjects.

DESIGN

Prospective cross-sectional study in a public hospital.

PARTICIPANTS

One hundred and four eyes of 52 TAO patients and 52 eyes of 26 healthy subjects.

METHODS

CT was measured with enhanced-depth imaging optical coherence tomography (EDI-OCT) at the subfoveal, macular and peripapillary regions. Multivariate linear regression was used to evaluate the associations of subfoveal CT with systemic and ocular variables among TAO eyes.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

CT of both groups.

RESULTS

CT of eyes with TAO was significantly increased at the subfoveal region, 1 and 2 mm from the fovea nasally, temporally and superiorly, and 1 mm inferior to the fovea (all P < .05). No significant difference was found in CT at 2 mm inferior to the fovea (P = .094) and all four quadrants of the peripapillary region (superior, P = .096; nasal, P = .732; inferior, P = .179; temporal, P = .052). Among TAO eyes, thinner subfoveal choroid was associated with worsening exophthalmos (P = .043), poorer visual acuity (P = .017), increasing age (P = .040) and axial length (P < .001). There was no association between CT and clinical activity score (P = .239).

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

TAO patients showed thicker choroid than controls over the macula, but not the peripapillary regions. Thinner subfoveal choroid was associated with worsening exophthalmos and poorer vision. EDI-OCT can monitor choroidal vascular changes associated with TAO and its complications.

Management of graves myopathy: Orbital imaging in thyroid-related orbitopathy

A broad understanding of the different imaging modalities used to assess the physiologic changes seen in Graves' orbitopathy complement clinical examination. Subtle applications of radiographic imaging techniques allow for a better understanding of the overall physiology of the orbit, quantify progression of disease, and differentiate it from orbital diseases with overlapping features. A nuanced approach to interpreting imaging features may allow us to delineate inactive from active thyroid eye disease, and advances within this field may arm clinicians with the ability to better predict and prevent dysthyroid optic neuropathy.

99mTc(V)-DMSA SPECT for the assessment of disease activity in Graves' ophthalmopathy

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of 99mTc(V)-dimercaptosuccinic acid (99mTc(V)-DMSA) scintigraphy for the assessment of disease activity in patients with Graves' ophthalmopathy (GO) and compare their clinical parameters.

METHODS

The study involved 20 patients who were clinically inactive and eight patients who were clinically active, a total 28 GO patients (18 female, 10 male; mean age: 39.2+/-13.4 years) and 12 control subjects (six female, six male; mean age: 57.12+/-12 years). Planar and SPECT orbital images were obtained 4 h after the intravenous injection of 555-740 MBq 99mTc(V)-DMSA, using low-energy, high-resolution, parallel-hole collimators with dual-head detectors. All SPECT data were reconstructed on conventional axial, sagittal and coronal projections using an iterative reconstruction. Semi-quantitative evaluation was performed comparing the orbital activity with nasal activity based on four grades. GO was classified according to the NOSPECS classification of the American Thyroid Association. Disease was considered clinically active if symptoms and signs deteriorated over 3 months.

RESULTS

No significant correlation was detected between clinical activity and classification (P=0.192). However, clinical activity and 99mTc(V)-DMSA uptake were significantly correlated (P=0.0001). There was no correlation between the clinical classification and scintigraphic grading. Bilateral orbital index of the active group was significantly higher than that of the inactive group (P=0.0001).

CONCLUSION

99mTc(V)-DMSA imaging discriminates the active from inactive GO as well as showing an ongoing subclinical inflammation in the orbits of the patients with GO, regardless of the disease activity clinically. Our results revealed that 99mTc(V)-DMSA is a promising agent for the diagnosis of active Graves' ophthalmopathy.