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Oxidative stress linked to development of GO after corticosteroid therapy
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Oxidative stress may play a role in the pathogenesis of Graves' ophthalmopathy after treatment with corticosteroids, according to a study by researchers in Baltimore and Taiwan.
Chieh-Chih Tsai, MD, and colleagues measured urinary levels of 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) for eight euthyroid patients with active Graves' ophthalmopathy (GO) before, during and after corticosteroid therapy. They then compared their findings with a control group of nine healthy subjects
Investigators found that patients with active GO had a significantly increased 8-OHdG level, which averaged 17.47 ng/mg of creatinine compared with 5.97 ng/mg for controls (P < .001), according to the study.
Lower mean 8-OHdG levels were recorded during and after corticosteroid therapy compared with levels before treatment and were linked to decreases in clinical activity and ophthalmopathy index scores, the authors reported.
Levels of 8-OHdG averaged 7.19 ng/mg of creatinine during steroid treatment and 10.18 ng/mg of creatinine after treatment, according to the study.
Additionally, the urinary 8-OHdG levels were increased in two patients with active GO when corticosteroid therapy was tapered or terminated, the authors noted.
The study is published in the December issue of Archives of Ophthalmology.