Endocrinology and Metabolism

Review Article

Thyroid
Long-Term Antithyroid Drug Therapy in Smoldering or Fluctuating-Type Graves’ Hyperthyroidism with Potassium Iodide: Ken Okamura; Endocrinol Metab. 2024;39(6):827-838. Published online October 16, 2024; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3803/EnM.2024.2079

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Abstract PDF PubReader ePub: Graves’ hyperthyroidism is characterized by stimulation of the thyroid gland by thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor antibodies (TRAbs). Antithyroid drug (ATD) continuation is recommended as long as the thyroid gland is stimulated. Goiter size, thyroidal ¹²³I uptake, serum thyroglobulin level, and TRAb positivity are reliable markers of thyroid stimulation. Attention must also be paid to the responsiveness of the thyroid gland due to the high prevalence of painless thyroiditis and spontaneous hypothyroidism during treatment. TRAbs disappeared at <5 years entering remission in 36.6% of patients (smooth-type), while re-elevation of TRAb activity occurred in 37.7% (fluctuating-type) and remained positive for >5 years in 21.1% (smoldering-type). Seven percent of patients remained positive for TRAbs for >30 years, requiring life-long ATD treatment. Remission occurred after median 6.8 years (interquartile range, 4.0 to 10.9) of ATD treatment in 55% of patients. However, late relapse may occur after stressful events (dormant type). In apparently intractable Graves’ disease (GD) with a large goiter (>40 g), ¹³¹I therapy should be considered. For initial and long-term ATD treatment, we must choose effective, safe, and economical drugs such as 100 mg potassium iodide (KI), although KI sensitivity varies in patients with GD. Thionamide, which has notorious side effects, is added only during the KI-resistant period.

Original Article

Thyroid
The Early Changes in Thyroid-Stimulating Immunoglobulin Bioassay over Anti-Thyroid Drug Treatment Could Predict Prognosis of Graves’ Disease: Jin Yu, Han-Sang Baek, Chaiho Jeong, Kwanhoon Jo, Jeongmin Lee, Jeonghoon Ha, Min Hee Kim, Jungmin Lee, Dong-Jun Lim; Endocrinol Metab. 2023;38(3):338-346. Published online June 9, 2023; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3803/EnM.2023.1664

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4 Web of Science
5 Crossref

Abstract PDF Supplementary Material PubReader ePub

Background
To determine whether baseline thyroid-stimulating immunoglobulin (TSI) bioassay or its early response upon treatment with an anti-thyroid drug (ATD) can predict prognosis of Graves’ disease (GD) in real-world practice.
Methods
This retrospective study enrolled GD patients who had previous ATD treatment with TSI bioassay checked at baseline and at follow-up from April 2010 to November 2019 in one referral hospital. The study population were divided into two groups: patients who experienced relapse or continued ATD (relapse/persistence), and patients who experienced no relapse after ATD discontinuation (remission). The slope and area under the curve at 1st year (AUC_1yr) of thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor antibodies including TSI bioassay and thyrotropin-binding inhibitory immunoglobulin (TBII) were calculated as differences between baseline and second values divided by time duration (year).
Results
Among enrolled 156 study subjects, 74 (47.4%) had relapse/persistence. Baseline TSI bioassay values did not show significant differences between the two groups. However, the relapse/persistence group showed less decremental TSI bioassay in response to ATD than the remission group (–84.7 [TSI slope, –198.2 to 8.2] vs. –120.1 [TSI slope, –204.4 to –45.9], P=0.026), whereas the TBII slope was not significantly different between the two groups. The relapse/persistence group showed higher AUC_1yr of TSI bioassay and TBII in the 1st year during ATD treatment than the remission group (AUC_1yr for TSI bioassay, P=0.0125; AUC_1yr for TBII, P=0.001).
Conclusion
Early changes in TSI bioassay can better predict prognosis of GD than TBII. Measurement of TSI bioassay at beginning and follow-up could help predict GD prognosis.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

A Predictive Model for Graves’ Disease Recurrence After Antithyroid Drug Therapy: A Retrospective Multicenter Cohort Study
Omar El Kawkgi, David Toro-Tobon, Freddy J.K. Toloza, Sebastian Vallejo, Cristian Soto Jacome, Ivan N. Ayala, Bryan A. Vallejo, Camila Wenczenovicz, Olivia Tzeng, Horace J. Spencer, Jeff D. Thostenson, Dingfeng Li, Jacob Kohlenberg, Eddy Lincango, Sneha M
Endocrine Practice.2025; 31(4): 455. CrossRef
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Endocrinology and Metabolism.2025; 40(3): 394. CrossRef
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Journal of Translational Medicine.2024;[Epub] CrossRef
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Meihua Jin, Chae A Kim, Min Ji Jeon, Won Bae Kim, Tae Yong Kim, Won Gu Kim
Endocrinology and Metabolism.2024; 39(4): 579. CrossRef

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