Effects of combined therapy of orbital cobalt Irradiation and oral corticosteroid administration, and pulse therapy for Graves' ophthalmopathy

This preliminary study was performed to investigate the efficacy of the combined therapy of orbital cobalt irradiation and oral prednisolone administration, and pulse therapy, for Graves' ophthalmopathy. The combined therapy was undergone according to procedure of Bartalena et al. (1983) in 5 patients. Excellent or good response to combined therapy were shown by 3 patients with short-standing ocular symptoms (3-4 months), but not by 2 patients with long-standing ocular symptoms (12-13 months). Pulse therapy was performed on 2 patients who showed no improvement from combined therapy, and on a patient who had acute onset of opthalmopathy. One gram of methylprednisolone sodium succinate was given intravenously daily for 3 successive days. This infusion procedure was repeated 3 to 4 times at intervals of 1 week. One of 2 patients who showed no improvement from combined therapy also had no response to pulse therapy. The other 2 patients showed a good response to pulse therapy and showed no relapse of ophthalmopathy for 10 and 8 months, respectively. These data emphasize the need for early immuno-suppressive therapy for Graves' ophthalmopathy. Pulse therapy may be employed in patients who show no response to other therapy method.