Women with a history of Graves’ disease should be screened for fetal hyperthyroidism at 2426 weeks’ gestation, Dr. Ingrid Block advised at a meeting on antepartum and intrapartum management. These women should have their thyroid-stimulating immunoglobulin (TSI) levels measured at the beginning of pregnancy and again at 24-26 weeks. The results may help confirm a suspicion of fetal hyperthyroidism or prompt further analysis, she said at the meeting, sponsored by the University of California,... more
Patients with two of the most serious, manifestations of Graves disease–acropachy and dermopathy–are three times more likely to have a history of tobacco use and are five times more likely to be current smokers than patients with another thyroid disease, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. A small study presented at the annual meeting of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists found that 31 of 39 patients with acropachy (79%), 81 of 102 patients with dermopathy (79%), and 13... more
Graves’ ophthalmopathy is uncommon in the first year after ablative radioiodine therapy, Julie E. Hallanger-Johnson, M.D., and her associates reported in a poster at the annual meeting of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists. Graves’ ophthalmopathy affects up to 30% of patients with Graves’ disease, with severe effects reported in 3%-5%. The influence of radioiodine therapy on the development of Graves’ ophthalmopathy is not clear and is considered a controversial... more
WASHINGTON — Given growing concerns about propylthiouracil-related liver toxicity, “it may be that we should be weighing the relative risks” of this drug and methimazole for the treatment of Graves’ disease during pregnancy, Dr. Susan J. Mandel said. Propylthiouracil (PTU) has been the preferred therapy for Graves’ disease during pregnancy, especially during first-trimester organogenesis, because methimazole (MMI) and carbimazole have been associated with aplasia cutis... more
