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Rundle's Curve |
| The time course of eye symptoms from thyroid-related orbitopathy follow's Rundle's curve. In general, there is an initial deterioration of the symptoms followed by a period of stability and then improvement. From start to finish, this time course is approximately 1 year. Because of this variation, we wait for the eye disease to stablize before definitive intervention. |
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Relationship of the Immune System to Eye Disease and the Thyroid Gland |
A common misconception is that the thyroid gland causes eye and orbital symptoms. This is however, not the case. Thyroid-related orbitopathy is an auto-immune disease and it is the immune system that causes the eye findings and thyroid enlargement. This process may occur simultaneously or independently. |