How to Fix Eye Problems in Graves’ Disease
Targeting TSH and IGF-1 Receptors to Treat Thyroid Eye Disease
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
In Graves’ disease, the body’s immune system attacks the thyroid and eyes by turning on a switch called TSHR. This causes swelling behind the eyes. A drug called teprotumumab turns off another switch, IGF-1R, and helps reduce swelling. But turning off the main switch, TSHR, might work even better. Using both drugs together could help more with fewer side effects.
Surprising Findings
Blocking IGF-1R alone doesn’t stop all disease activity because there’s a second, IGF-1R-independent pathway activated by TSHR.
Most assumed IGF-1R was the main driver, but this shows the TSH receptor itself can trigger eye damage even without IGF-1R.
Practical Takeaways
Patients with thyroid eye disease may want to ask their doctors about emerging TSHR-targeted therapies in clinical development.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
In Graves’ disease, the body’s immune system attacks the thyroid and eyes by turning on a switch called TSHR. This causes swelling behind the eyes. A drug called teprotumumab turns off another switch, IGF-1R, and helps reduce swelling. But turning off the main switch, TSHR, might work even better. Using both drugs together could help more with fewer side effects.
Surprising Findings
Blocking IGF-1R alone doesn’t stop all disease activity because there’s a second, IGF-1R-independent pathway activated by TSHR.
Most assumed IGF-1R was the main driver, but this shows the TSH receptor itself can trigger eye damage even without IGF-1R.
Practical Takeaways
Patients with thyroid eye disease may want to ask their doctors about emerging TSHR-targeted therapies in clinical development.
Publication
Journal
European Thyroid Journal
Year
2020
Authors
S. Neumann, C. Krieger, M. Gershengorn
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Claims (6)
In Graves’ disease, certain antibodies in the body mistakenly turn on the thyroid gland and can also affect the eyes, causing swelling and bulging — it's like the immune system accidentally hits the gas pedal on both the thyroid and eye tissues.
When a certain receptor in eye cells gets turned on, it triggers processes that cause the cells to release a gooey substance, leading to eye bulging and swelling in people with thyroid eye disease.
A drug called teprotumumab helps people with thyroid eye disease by reducing swelling, pain, and other symptoms — and it's already approved by health regulators.
Some new treatments for thyroid eye disease might work better by hitting two different pathways in the eye that cause swelling, instead of just one.
Using two treatments together—one for the TSH receptor and one for the IGF-1 receptor—might work better and cause fewer side effects for people with thyroid eye disease than using just one of them alone.