URINARY GLYCOSAMINOGLYCAN LEVELS IN PATIENTS WITH GRAVES OPTHALMOPATHY - AN EFFECTIVE PARAMETER FOR THE GRADING OF OPHTHALMOPATHY

An increased accumulation of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) in retrobulbar tissues has been reported in patients with Graves' ophthalmopathy (GO) . We examined quantitative urinary GAGs excretion in patients with dif ferent grades of GO. 36 patients with Graves' disease were included in the study. They were classified according to their grade of ophthalmo pathy: Grade 2 (n=14), Grade 3 (n=14) and Grade 4 (n=8). When GAG leve ls of patients with ophthalmopathy were compared to controls, a signif icant increase was observed in both Grade 3 and Grade 4 patients, wher eas no significant difference was found in Grade 2 patients. These res ults show that urinary excretion of GAGs is a possible marker for the activity of Graves' ophthalmopathy. Determination of urinary level of GAGs is recommended as a simple laboratory method for estimating the g rade of ophthalmopathy.