Teprotumumab improves light sensitivity in patients with thyroid eye disease

Teprotumumab, a novel IGF-1R antibody, has been shown to significantly reduce the signs of acute and chronic Thyroid Eye Disease (TED). Light sensitivity is a reported symptom in patients with TED. There is a lack of a prospective study that has explored the effects on light sensitivity in a large cohort of patients with acute and chronic TED following treatment with teprotumumab.

Consecutive patients who were diagnosed with TED and reported light sensitivity at baseline were considered for study eligibility. All patients had measurements of Visual Light Sensitivity Questionnaire-8 (VLSQ-8), proptosis, clinical activity score (CAS), and MRD1 (distance between the upper eyelid margin and corneal reflex, mm) and MRD2 (distance between the lower eyelid margin and corneal reflex, mm) before and after treatment.

Ninety patients (41 acute, 49 chronic) met the inclusion criteria. The mean (SD) age was 47.3 (14.3). Eighty-six (95.6%) patients completed all 8 infusions. There was a significant reduction in the total score and across all categories of the VLSQ-8 (p <  0.01 for all). Seventy-two (80%) patients had a clinically significant improvement (≥2 reduction) in at least one category. There was no significant difference in the total VLSQ-8 score between the acute and chronic group (p = 0.8).

Teprotumumab improves light sensitivity in patients with acute and chronic TED. The results of this study highlight that the improvements in light sensitivity following treatment are not directly related to the mechanical changes in TED, suggesting another underlying mechanism is potentially involved.