Brief plain language background
Thyroid eye disease (TED) is an autoimmune condition which can be disabling, disfiguring, and sight-threatening, leading to significant impact on patients. Despite this, our fundamental understanding of the development of the disease is limited. It can present in different ways, but widely used clinical scoring systems can underestimate the severity of TED, leading to suboptimal management. Currently available treatments can have substantial side effects and may not be effective for all patients.
What problem/knowledge gap does it help address
Current TED treatments aim to reduce inflammation and slow disease progression, but are non-specific and have potentially toxic side effects. Many patients don't respond to standard therapies and require second or third-line options. Newer treatments can reverse disease, but about a third of patients show no benefit. This variation in response raises questions about TED's underlying mechanisms. Previous research identifies what factors and cells are present but not how they interact. Uncovering these relationships is crucial to pinpoint the drivers and tailor treatments for each patient— maximising benefit while minimising risk.
Aim of the project
The team aim to apply cutting edge tissue imaging techniques to analyse 20 samples from patients undergoing orbital surgery, allowing them to understand the complex relations between cells driving TED and identify treatment targets for the different sub-types and manifestations of the disease.
Potential impact on people with sight loss
Dr Chu hopes that this will be the first step towards a deeper understanding of the development of TED, allowing exploration of cellular communication – particularly immune cell position and key cells driving the changes seen in TED; leading to the selection of targets for treatment. The team have already demonstrated feasibility by successfully applying this technique to examine an orbital biopsy of a TED patient. This study will provide immediate data relevant to the larger group of TED patients and help categorise the different ways the disease presents for future studies.