Thyroid eye disease with choroidal folds

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Endocrinology

Background:

• Thyroid eye disease (TED) can cause significant ocular complications.
• Chorioretinal folds (CRF) are a less common manifestation of TED.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the clinical course and outcomes of patients with CRF associated with TED.

Main Methods:

• A multi-center retrospective case series.
• Involved analysis of 10 patients (17 eyes) with TED and CRF.
• Compared axial length and optic nerve distances to controls without CRF.

Main Results:

• CRF in TED occurred in a predominantly male, hyperthyroid population.
• Compressive optic neuropathy affected 47% of eyes; 70% of CRF did not resolve.
• Enlarged inferior rectus muscle was associated with persistent CRF.

Conclusions:

• CRF in TED often signals impending vision loss and shows poor resolution rates.
• Persistent CRF in TED may be linked to inferior rectus muscle enlargement.