Re-examination of peripheral blood T cell subsets in dysthyroid orbitopathy.

Patients with dysthyroid orbitopathy (DO) were grouped according to a multifactorial assessment of disease severity and the rate of disease progression. Using this system and flow cytometric measurements of T cell subsets in the peripheral blood, a significant increase in the percentage of CD4+ lymphocytes correlated with disease severity in DO patients with progressive disease. These observations are consistent with the hypothesis that the CD4+ peripheral blood T helper cells play a significant role in the progression of DO.