It is also more likely to develop if you smoke, particularly if you are a heavy smoker. Some people carry genes which make it more likely that they will develop thyroid eye disease. Thyroid eye disease generally occurs in middle age. However, people with an apparently normal thyroid gland at the time of thyroid eye disease have usually had abnormal thyroid function in the past or they go on to develop abnormal thyroid function in the future. Occasionally, thyroid eye disease occurs when the thyroid gland appears to be working normally. Most of these people also have a problem with an overactive thyroid gland (hyperthyroidism) and have an underlying autoimmune condition. Each year it affects about 16 women and 3 men in every 100,000 people. It is not known why this happens in some people and not in others. In some people, these same antibodies also attack the tissues around the eyeball, causing thyroid eye disease. See the separate leaflet called Goitre (Thyroid Swelling). Graves' disease is an autoimmune thyroid disease which causes a swelling of the thyroid gland (called a goitre).
Some people have a particular tendency to develop autoimmune diseases.Īutoimmune thyroid disease occurs when the body's antibodies attack the thyroid gland. In autoimmune disease, the immune system makes antibodies against tissues of the body. The immune system normally makes small proteins (antibodies) to attack germs (for example, bacteria). Thyroid eye disease is an autoimmune disease, most often occurring in association with an overactive thyroid gland (hyperthyroidism). This is most often due to an autoimmune disease. The thyroid gland can become overactive or underactive. It has an important role in controlling the speed at which chemical reactions happen in the tissues throughout your body (metabolic rate).
The thyroid gland is a small butterfly-shaped gland sitting near the top of your windpipe (trachea) at the front of your neck. Understanding thyroid eye disease The thyroid gland
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