Ear Nose Throat J. 2007 Nov;86(11):666-7.
FIRST PARAGRAPH: Widely known by its eponym Graves’ disease, diffuse hyperplasia of the thyroid gland is an autoimmune condition in which excess thyroid hormone production is unchecked by the normal feedback loop between the thyroid and the pituitary gland. The immune-system abnormality is mediated by antibodies to the thyrotropin receptor found on follicular epithelial cells. When the most specific antibody, known as thyroid-stimulating immunoglobulin (TSI), is bound to the thyrotropin receptor, the TSI mimics the action of pituitary thyrotropin and stimulates the follicular epithelium to produce hormone. The clinical effect of this autoimmune process is (1) thyrotoxicosis accompanied by diffuse thyroid enlargement and an infiltrative ophthalmopathy and (2) a spectrum of the systemic effects of excessive thyroid hormone production.
PubMed ID: 18225623
Article Size: <1 MB