What Is Graves' Disease?
5. Graves’ Ophthalmopathy Causes
Graves’ ophthalmopathy will often appear at the same time as the symptoms of hyperthyroidism appear. In some cases, the symptoms of Graves’ ophthalmopathy will not appear until several months, or even years, later. It is also not necessary for the patient to be suffering from hyperthyroidism for Graves’ ophthalmopathy to appear.
It is not known why, but it seems as though the antibodies responsible for Graves’ disease are also prone to affecting the tissues around the eyes. This can cause certain types of carbohydrates to accumulate in the tissues and muscles just behind the eyes. The presence of these carbohydrates can then cause the symptoms associated with Graves’ ophthalmopathy.
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