+1-617-394-8820 contact@baybiosciences.com

Proptosis (Bulging Eyes)

by | Apr 14, 2024 | Info | 0 comments

Proptosis (Bulging Eyes) Overview

Proptosis is the forward protrusion of a body part. Doctors typically use it to describe protruding or bulging eyeballs. Proptosis of the eyes can occur alongside swelling, double vision, and less clear vision.

Various conditions can cause proptosis, including thyroid disease, injury, or tumors. Doctors treat proptosis by addressing the underlying condition. For example, if the cause is a tumor, the treatment may be surgery to remove the growth.

With early treatment, the outlook for prognosis is generally positive. However, it depends on what is causing it. Many cases will improve within 2–3 months.

What is Proptosis?

Proptosis is a medical term that describes part of the body protruding from its proper location. Although the term can refer to any body part, doctors often use it to describe protruding or bulging eyes.

Another name for this symptom is exophthalmos, which refers specifically to the eyes. Some doctors use these words interchangeably.

Causes of Proptosis

Various conditions can cause proptosis. In adults, however, the most common is thyroid disease.

An example of this is Graves disease, which occurs when the thyroid gland becomes overactive and produces too much thyroid hormone. This is caused by autoantibodies, which bind to orbital soft tissues and generate marked tissue swelling and proptosis.

In children, the most common cause is orbital cellulitis, which is an infection of the eyeball and surrounding tissue. Other potential causes include:

  • Inflammation in the orbit from conditions such as:
    • Granulomatosis with polyangiitis, which causes inflammation of blood vessels in certain parts of the body
    • Sarcoidosis, which is a condition that causes the growth of granulomas
  • Interference with the return of venous blood from the eye socket, such as:
    • Carotid-cavernous fistula, which is an atypical connection between an artery and vein
    • Orbital varices, or malformation of the veins
    • Cavernous sinus thrombosis, which is a blood clot in the sinuses
  • A growth that invades the eye socket, such as a tumor caused by:
  • Forced entry of foreign matter into the socket
  • Other growths in the eye socket, such as a lacrimal gland tumor or dermoid cyst


Signs and Symptoms of Proptosis

Proptosis causes one or both eyes to bulge. Other symptoms can include:

  • Diplopia, or double vision
  • Ophthalmoplegia, or paralysis of muscles within or surrounding the eye 
  • Red eyes due to dilation of surface blood vessels
  • Swelling of the eyelid or tissues surrounding the eye socket
  • Decreased visual acuity, which means a person cannot see as clearly

A person may experience additional symptoms, too, depending on the underlying cause of the proptosis. For instance, if the cause is an overactive thyroid gland, symptoms may include:

  • A fast or irregular heartbeat 
  • Changes in bowel habits
  • Heat intolerance
  • Unintentional weight loss

Diagnosis of Proptosis

Doctors base a proptosis diagnosis on an eye examination and medical history. They will also look for the underlying cause, such as Graves’ disease or cancer. This process may involve:

  • blood tests for:
    • Autoimmune antibodies 
    • C-reactive protein, which is a marker of inflammation
    • Complete blood cell count
    • Kidney function 
    • Thyroid function
  • Blood cultures and nasal swabs to detect infections
  • Imaging tests, including:

Treatment of Proptosis

Treatment for proptosis involves treating the underlying cause. In some cases, this requires cooperation between several medical professionals, such as:

  • a primary care doctor
  • an ophthalmologist, or eye doctor
  • an endocrinologist

Treatment may be surgical or nonsurgical.

Surgical Treatment

Surgical treatment may include the removal of tissue or a tumor.

If a person does not respond to medications, orbital decompression and extraocular muscle repair may be necessary to correct vision.

Orbital decompression is the removal of bone and fat from the orbit, while extraocular muscle repair is the surgical correction of the muscles that control eyeball movements.

Nonsurgical Treatment

Depending on the underlying cause, nonsurgical treatment may involve:

  • Botulinum toxin (Botox) injection to correct an unusually high position of the upper eyelid
  • Corticosteroids to reduce inflammation
  • Chemotherapy to reduce tumor size
  • Reducing dryness with eye lubricants
  • Wearing sunglasses to prevent glare and sensitivity to light
  • Quitting smoking

In 2020, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the drug teprotumumab (Terpezza) for the treatment of proptosis due to Graves’ disease. It helps block inflammation and has the potential to spare people with the condition the need for multiple surgeries.

When will Proptosis get Better?

This depends on the underlying condition and the person’s response to treatment. If the cause is unrelated to thyroid disease, the redness, pain, and swelling should improve significantly after 2–3 months.

In contrast, if the cause stems from thyroid disease, recovery may take much longer. Some individuals may not experience a total improvement, as 5% of people who experience thyroid-related thyroid disease have permanent double vision or vision impairment.

People with thyroid-related proptosis can prevent it from getting worse by taking their prescribed medications. Quitting smoking is also important, as this can prevent the progression of thyroid eye disease.


Living with Proptosis

Proptosis changes a person’s appearance, which can affect their emotional well-being and quality of life. If the condition causes a vision impairment that does not improve, proptosis may also result in a level of disability.

But support is available for people living with proptosis. Those who find that proptosis affects their self-image or who are adapting to changes in eyesight may find it helpful to join a support group. The Graves’ Disease & Thyroid Foundation provides one for those with thyroid disease, for example.

Another option for people with vision changes is speaking with an occupational therapist, who can provide help and insight on adaptive tools people can use to continue doing their typical activities.

People who experience anxiety, low self-esteem, or a persistent low mood may benefit from speaking with a mental health professional.

Summary

Proptosis is a medical term for a body part protruding from its location. Proptosis of the eyes, or exophthalmos, is when one or both eyes protrude forwards from their socket. This can occur alongside changes in vision, inflammation or swelling, and more systemic symptoms, depending on what is causing it.

Although Graves’ disease is the most common cause of proptosis in adults, an array of other conditions may also cause it. Diagnosis requires an eye examination, as well as an investigation into what is causing the eyes to bulge.

Treatment depends on the cause and severity of the condition. In many cases, early treatment results in a positive outlook, with most people experiencing an improvement in their proptosis in a few months.

Bay Biosciences is a global leader in providing researchers with high quality, clinical grade, fully characterized human tissue samples, bio-specimens, and human bio-fluid collections.

Samples available include cancer (tumor) tissue, cancer serum, cancer plasma, cancer, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). and human tissue samples from most other therapeutic areas and diseases.

Bay Biosciences maintains and manages its own biorepository, the human tissue bank (biobank) consisting of thousands of diseased samples (specimens) and from normal healthy donors available in all formats and types.

Our biobank procures and stores fully consented, deidentified and institutional review boards (IRB) approved human tissue samples and matched controls.

All our human tissue collections, human specimens and human bio-fluids are provided with detailed, samples associated patient’s clinical data.

This critical patient’s clinical data includes information relating to their past and current disease, treatment history, lifestyle choices, biomarkers, and genetic information.

Patient’s data is extremely valuable for researchers and is used to help identify new effective treatments (drug discovery & development) in oncology, and other therapeutic areas and diseases.

Bay Biosciences banks wide variety of human tissue samples and biological samples, including cryogenically preserved at – 80°C.

Including fresh frozen tissue samples, tumor tissue samples, formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE), tissue slides, with matching human bio-fluids, whole blood and blood-derived products such as serum, plasma and PBMC.

Bay Biosciences is a global leader in collecting and providing human tissue samples according to the specified requirements and customized, tailor-made collection protocols.

Please contact us anytime to discuss your special research projects and customized human tissue sample requirements.

Types of Biospecimens

Bay Biosciences provides human tissue samples (human specimens) from diseased and normal healthy donors which includes:

We can also procure most human bio-specimens, special collections and requests for human samples that are difficult to find. All our human tissue samples are procured through IRB-approved clinical protocols and procedures.

In addition to the standard processing protocols, Bay Biosciences can also provide human plasma, serum, and PBMC bio-fluid samples using custom processing protocols; you buy donor-specific collections in higher volumes and specified sample aliquots from us.

Bay Biosciences also provides human samples from normal healthy donors; volunteers, for controls and clinical research, contact us Now.

  • 日本のお客様は、ベイバイオサイエンスジャパンBay Biosciences Japanまたはhttp://baybiosciences-jp.com/contact/までご連絡ください。