What role do antioxidants have in the treatment of thyroid eye disease?
After conducting a systematic review, researchers were unable to make a strong recommendation for the use of antioxidants alone or in combination for the management of patients with thyroid eye disease (TED).
A literature search identified 374 articles including clinical trials, case-control studies, cohorts, case series, case reports, and experimental (including in vitro) studies. The full text of 82 articles were reviewed from a selected 157 studies. Overall, 14 papers were included in the review, containing 4 clinical and 10 in vitro studies from 1993 to 2018.
In the in vitro studies, the following showed some efficacy:
-β-carotene
-Retinol
-Vitamin E
-Vitamin C
-Melatonin
-Resveratrol
-N-acetyl-l-cysteine
-Quercetin
In clinical and experimental reports, the following showed efficacy:
-Allopurinol
-Nicotinamide
-Pentoxifylline
-Slenium
A single high-level randomized controlled trial recommended selenium.
Reference
Akbarian S, Chaibakhsh S, Kashkouli MB, et al. A Systematic Review on the Role of Antioxidants in Thyroid Eye Disease. J Curr Ophthalmol. 2022;34(1):16-24. doi: 10.4103/joco.joco_266_21. PMID: 35620378; PMCID: PMC9128423.