Objective: Graves’ disease (GD) is characterized by elevated TSH-receptor antibodies (TRAb) and less often – thyroid peroxidase (TPOAb) and thyroglobulin antibodies (TgAb). Our aim was to examine the hormonal and ultrasound characteristics of patients with newly diagnosed GD with differing positive thyroid antibodies.
Materials and Methods: This study included 249 patients with newly diagnosed GD (191 women, 58 men). 40.2% of them had Graves’ ophtalmopathy. The serum levels of TSH, free T4, free T3, TRAb, TPOAb, and TgAb were measured with third generation ECLIA assays (Roche Diagnostics, Switzerland). Thyroid ultrasound was performed with a Fukuda-Denshi 550 device (Fukuda Corp., Japan) and an Ultrasonix device (Ultrasonix Medical Corp., Canada). Statistical analyses were done using the SPSS 23.0 statistical package (Chicago, IL).
Results: 64% of the patients were TPOAb+ and 36% − TgAb+. One third were only TRAb+, 1/3 had two positive antibodies (TRAb + second antibody) and 1/3 – all three positive antibodies. Patients with more positive antibodies tended to be younger, had higher fT4, TRAb levels, thyroid volume but rarely had nodules on US and accompanying GO. Positive TPOAb antibodies were found in younger patients, with higher fT4 and TRAb levels, higher thyroid volume and lower prevalence of nodules and GO. The same trends were found in patients with positive TgAb.
Conclusion: The different characteristics of GD patients with varying thyroid antibody profiles may be due to a variation in the pathogenesis of the disease. An individualized clinical approach may be suitable in those cases.
