Background: The correlation between intraocular pressure (IOP) and the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) parameters in thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO) patients was explored.
Methods: This study included 82 eyes in 41 TAO patients who had a large difference in the IOP between each eye. We measured the T2 relaxation time (T2RT) of the extraocular muscles (EOMs), the orbital fat, and the area of the EOMs.
Results: There was a positive correlation between IOP and exophthalmos, the clinical activity score (CAS), the T2RT (of the medial rectus (MR)), the area of the MR, inferior rectus (IR) and lateral rectus, and the mean area. We established a regression model with IOP as the dependent variable, and the area of the IR was statistically significant.
Conclusions: High IOP in TAO patients was positively correlated with the degree of exophthalmos and EOM inflammation (especially the inferior rectus). The state of the EOMs in an orbital MRI may partially explain high IOP and provide the necessary clinical information for subsequent high IOP treatment.
Keywords: T2 relaxation time; extraocular muscle; intraocular pressure; magnetic resonance imaging; thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy.