Abstract
Objective:
Thyroid stimulating hormone receptor antibodies (TSHRAbs) are specific autoantibodies
of Graves’ disease (GD). They activate adenylate cyclase, induce thyroid growth, and
cause an increased rate of thyroid hormone production and secretion. TSHRAbs levels
are decreased by treatment and may predict recurrence when they persist. Theoretically,
TSHRAbs levels should be related to intrathyroid vascularity (ITV) due to the autoimmunity
and inflammation. We aimed to analyze the relationship between TSHRAbs represented
by thyrotropin-binding inhibitory immunoglobulin (TBII) levels and ITV measured by
thyroid duplex sonography (TDS).
Patients:
56 GD patients were prospectively recruited.
Measurements:
ITV, measured using TDS, was defined as follows: (average color-flow area in the right
and left sides of the thyroid/total thyroid area in transverse view)×100.
Results:
The average TBII level was 47.1% and average ITV was 27.24. ITV positively and significantly
correlated with TBII (p<0.001).
Conclusions:
TSHRAbs show significant correlation with ITV. This may help doctors to estimate thyroid
autoimmune activity when they performing sonography at clinics.
Key words
Graves’ disease - thyrotropin receptor antibody - doppler sonography - infrared thermal
imaging