[The diagnosis and therapy of endocrine ophthalmopathy (author's transl)].

Radio-iodide diagnosis of the thyroid is a simple method of high security in the diagnosis of endocrine ophthalmopathy. This procedure is valuable especially, in cases where neither clinically, nor in the sero-hormonal diagnosis a disturbance of the thyroid can be found. In many cases an accelerated intrathyroidal turnover of radio-iodide can identify an unclear ophthalmopathy as an endocrine ophthalmopathy. The therapy of choice for hyperthyreoidism with endocrine ophthalmopathy is 131-iodide resection. This statement has been proven by our own experiences in more than 1000 cases in the past 15 years and by the results indicated in early literature about the course of ophthalmopathy after surgical or medical treatment. For the therapy of a malign, or imminent malign endocrine ophthalmopathy, we use percutane irradiation of the orbit with sparing of the lens in a dose of 200 rad 5 times a week. In practically all cases, this therapy eliminates the consequence of visual disturbances and avoids surgical decompression.