Update on the medical treatment of Graves' ophthalmopathy

Purpose: To review recent advances in the understanding of Graves' ophthalmopathy (GO) pathogenesis as well as discuss current and future medical management strategies. Design: Interpretive essay. Methods: Literature review and interpretation. Results: Medical treatment of GO has slowly evolved during the past few decades and has been hampered by a poor understanding of the disease at a cellular and molecular level. Current treatment recommendations and guidelines therefore focus on nonspecific immuno-suppression. Newer classes of treatment agents hold promise to more selectively target underlying cellular and molecular alterations in GO. Conclusion: Cooperation between individual patients, physicians and between differing medical centers, together with a refined understanding of the pathogenesis of GO, will lead to newer more-effective treatments for the disease and improve patient quality of life.