Who we are

Mission Statement

Graves' Orbitopathy (GO) is a relatively rare and difficult disease to manage. Many of the treatments have not been subjected to rigorous scientific evaluation. A major obstacle to improving the management of this condition is that no individual centre has access to sufficiently large numbers of patients for adequately powered randomised controlled clinical trials (RCTs).

To overcome this problem the EUGOGO Working Group was established in 1999 by nine European Centres in order to join forces and facilitate the implementation of powerful studies. These initiating centres and all those who have joined since it's inception have long experience in managing patients with Graves’ Orbitopathy within a multidisciplinary framework, have a track record in clinical research in this condition and constitute large regional or national referral centres.

As a consortium of clinicians (endocrinologists and ophthalmologists), clinical epidemiologists and radiologists, EUGOGO members commit to improving the management and quality of life of GO patients within a multidisciplinary and scientific context. These Combined Thyroid Eye Clinics (TEC) represent the ideal setting to offer a patient-focussed approach with standardised assessments and tailored ophthalmologic and endocrinologic treatments according to current guidelines depending on the patients’ individual needs.

The collaborating multicentric network of EUGOGO Thyroid Eye Clinics allows to recruit sufficient numbers of patients to obtain evidence based data from large RCTs and therefore to facilitate development and translation of new beneficial but safe treatment modalities into routine clinical practice. 

The other main focus of EUGOGO is on teaching. The TEC proved to be the ideal setting to teach residents in training because they get experience with the multiple facets of the disease and learn much about the subtleties of diagnosis and standards of treatment. EUGOGO organises internationally recognised teaching courses around Europe, not just in members' countries, with the aim to share knowledge about standard of care and spread the spirit of multidisciplinarity.

Executive Committee