Graves Disease

Graves Disease: Introduction

Graves Disease: Graves' disease is one of the most common autoimmune diseases, affecting 13 million people and targeting women seven times as often as men. ... more about Graves Disease.

Graves Disease: is an autoimmune disease characterized by hyperthyroidism due to circulating autoantibodies. Thyroid-stimulating immunoglobulins (TSIs) bind to and activate thyrotropin receptors, causing the thyroid gland to grow and the thyroid follicles to increase synthesis of thyroid hormone. More detailed information about the symptoms, causes, and treatments of Graves Disease is available below.

Symptoms of Graves Disease

• No symptoms - it is possible to show no side effects of the disease
• Increased energy expenditure
• Weight loss
• Increased appetite
• Rapid heart rate
• more symptoms...»

See full list of 63 symptoms of Graves Disease

Home Diagnostic Testing

Home medical testing related to Graves Disease:

• Thyroid: Home Testing:
  • Home Thyroid Function Testing
  • Home TSH Tests
  • Home Adrenal Function Tests
• Menopause: Related Home Testing:
  • Home Menopause Tests
  • Home FSH Hormone Tests
  • Home Osteoporosis Testing
• Vaginal Health: Home Testing:
  • Home Vaginal Infection Tests
  • Home Vaginal PH Tests
  • Home Yeast Infection Tests
  • Home Candida Kits
  • Home Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) Test Kits
  • Home Bladder Test Kits
• Adrenal Gland Health: Home Testing:
  • Home Adrenal Function Testing
  • Home Thyroid Function Tests
• Breast Cancer: Related Home Tests:
  • Home Breast Cancer Test Kits
  • Home Breast Lump Detection
• more tests...»

Graves Disease: Complications

Review possible medical complications related to Graves Disease:

• Birth defects
• Miscarriages
• Heart complications
• Death
• Goiter
• Hypothyroidism - not a disease complication directly, but common after surgery to correct hyperthyroidism.
• Agranulocytosis is an idiosyncratic reaction to antithyroid drugs
• more complications...»

Medical Textbooks Online about Graves Disease

Book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

Less Common Symptoms of Graves Disease

• Finger clubbing
• Toe clubbing
• Enlarged male breasts
• more symptoms...»

Read more about symptoms of Graves Disease

Diagnostic Tests for Graves Disease

• Thyroid blood test
• more tests...»

Read more about tests for Graves Disease

Wrongly Diagnosed with Graves Disease?

• Misdiagnosis of Graves Disease
• Failure to diagnose Graves Disease
• Hidden causes of Graves Disease (possibly wrongly diagnosed)
• Undiagnosed: Graves Disease

Graves Disease: Medical Mistakes

• Women's Health Mistakes:
  • Womens Health -- Health Mistakes
  • Contraception -- Health Mistakes
  • Fertility -- Health Mistakes
• more mistakes...»

Graves Disease: Marketplace Products, Discounts & Offers

Products, offers and promotion categories available for Graves Disease:

• Mom & Baby
• Pregnancy
• Womens Health
• more product offers...»

Graves Disease: Undiagnosed Conditions

Commonly undiagnosed diseases in related medical categories:

• Chronic Major Diseases that are commonly Undiagnosed:
  • High Cholesterol -- Undiagnosed
  • Heart Disease -- Undiagnosed
  • Cancer -- Undiagnosed
  • Depression -- Undiagnosed
  • Type 2 Diabetes -- Undiagnosed
  • Type 1 Diabetes -- Undiagnosed
  • Hypertension -- Undiagnosed
  • Hemochromatosis -- Undiagnosed
  • Metabolic Syndrome -- Undiagnosed
• more undiagnosed conditions...»

Misdiagnosis and Graves Disease

Cluster of diseases with difficult diagnosis issues: There is a well-known list of medical conditions that are all somewhat difficult to diagnose, and all can present in a variety of different severities. Diseases in this...read more »

Rare type of breast cancer without a lump: There is a less common form of breast cancer called inflammatory breast cancer. Its symptoms can be an inflammation of the breast tissue, such as with a breast rash...read more »

Thyroid disorders greatly under-diagnosed: One study found that about 10% of people had undiagnosed thyroid disorders, mostly hyperthyroidism, but also hypothyroidism. The symptoms of thyroid disorders are...read more »

Read more about Misdiagnosis and Graves Disease

Graves Disease: Research Doctors & Specialists

Research related physicians and medical specialists:

• Diabetes & Endocrinology Specialists:
  • Diabetes, Endocrinology & Metabolism
  • Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility
  • Pediatric Endocrinology (Child Hormones)
• Pregnancy & Fertility Health Specialists:
  • Maternal & Fetal Medicine
  • Obstetrics & Gynecology
  • Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine
• Womens Health Specialists:
  • Gynecological Oncology
• Immune-Related Disease Specialists (Immunology):
  • Allergy & Immunology (Allergies & Immune Diseases)
  • Pediatric Allergy and Immunology (Child Allergies & Immune Diseases)
  • Immunopathology
  • Dermatological Immunology / Diagnostic Laboratory
  • Clinical & Laboratory Immunology
• more specialists...»

Other doctor, physician and specialist research services:

• Rate Your Doctor Online
• Research Your Doctor Online
• Review Patient Surveys About Your Doctor
• Research local specialists including ratings, affiliations, and sanctions.

Hospitals & Clinics: Graves Disease

Research quality ratings and patient safety measures for medical facilities in specialties related to Graves Disease:

• Womens Health -- Hospital Quality Ratings
• more hospital ratings...»

Hospital & Clinic quality ratings » »

Choosing the Best Hospital: More general information, not necessarily in relation to Graves Disease, on hospital performance and surgical care quality:

• 50 Best Hospitals Report
• Outstanding Patient Experinece Award Winning Hospitals
• Women's Health Best Hospitals
• Patient Safety
• Hospital Quality and Clinical Excellence Study (2009)

Graves Disease: Rare Types

Rare types of diseases and disorders in related medical categories:

• Chronic Major Diseases -- Rare Types:
  • High Cholesterol -- Rare Types
  • Heart Disease -- Rare Types
  • Cancer -- Rare Types
  • Depression -- Rare Types
  • Type 2 Diabetes -- Rare Types
  • Type 1 Diabetes -- Rare Types
  • Hypertension -- Rare Types
  • Hemochromatosis -- Rare Types
  • Metabolic Syndrome -- Rare Types
• more rare diseases...»

Causes of Graves Disease

• Graves's disease is autoimmune in etiology. The autoimmune process in Graves disease isinfluenced by a combination of environmental and genetic factors
• more causes...»

Read more about causes of Graves Disease

More information about causes of Graves Disease:

• Medications, drugs, or substances causing Graves Disease (1 listings)
• Underlying causes of Graves Disease
• Graves Disease as a complication caused by other conditions
• Graves Disease as a symptom
• Medical news summaries relating to Causes of Graves Disease

Treatments for Graves Disease

• Anti-thyroid drug therapy
  • Methimazole
  • Carbimazole
  • Propylthiouricil
• Radioactive iodine (radioiodine) treatment
• more treatments...»

See full list of 10 treatments for Graves Disease

Latest Treatments for Graves Disease

• Radioiodine
• Beta blockers
• Methimazole
• Propylthiouracil
• Propranolol
• more treatments...»

See full list of 7 latest treatments for Graves Disease

News Archives for Graves Disease

Medical news articles related to Graves Disease include:

• Drug May Be Dangerous for Kids With Graves' Disease
• Vaccines Seek to Offer Cradle-to-Grave Protection
• more health news...»

Source: HealthDay News

Evidence Based Medicine Research for Graves Disease

Medical research articles related to Graves Disease include:

• Is there any effective treatment of pretibial myxoedema/myxedema in someone who is now euthyroid?
• A patient has thyroid peroxidase antibodies, are there any interventions to prevent the development of hypothyroidism?
• Does a diet rich in salt and sugar have impact on the thryoid, can Graves disease be linked in with this?
• Radioiodine treatment for pediactric Graves' disease
• Thyroid lump
• Radioiodine in the management of benign thyroid disease
• Hyperthyroidism
• more research...»

Click here to find more evidence-based articles on the TRIP Database

Videos for Graves Disease

Patient Surveys for Graves Disease

• Patient Profile Survey
  Take Survey  View Results
• Survey about the symptoms of your Graves Disease
  Take Survey  View Results

Prognosis for Graves Disease

Prognosis for Graves Disease: Most patients become hypothyroid and require replacement. Similarly, the ophthalmopathy generally becomes quiescent. On occasion, hyperthyroidism returns because of persisting thyroid tissue after ablation and high antibody titers of anti-TSI. Further therapy may be necessary in the form of surgery or radioactive iodine ablation.

More about prognosis of Graves Disease

Reseach about Graves Disease

Visit our research pages for current research about Graves Disease treatments.

Clinical Trials for Graves Disease

The US based website ClinicalTrials.gov lists information on both federally and privately supported clinical trials using human volunteers.

Some of the clinical trials listed on ClinicalTrials.gov for Graves Disease include:

• Phase II Randomized Controlled Study of Sequential Orbital Radiotherapy for Graves' Ophthalmopathy - This study is no longer recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006)
• rhTSH, Thyroid Size, and Radioiodine Therapy in Benign Goiter - This study is no longer recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - Recombinant human thyrotropin (Thyrogen)
• Block-Replacement Therapy During Radioiodine Therapy - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - Methimazole,Levothyroxine
• Rituximab in the Treatment of Graves' Disease - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - Methimazole,Rituximab
• Antithyroid Drugs During Radioiodine Therapy - This study has been completed (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - Methimazole
• more trials...»

See full list of 10 Clinical Trials for Graves Disease

Prevention of Graves Disease

Prevention information for Graves Disease has been compiled from various data sources and may be inaccurate or incomplete. None of these methods guarantee prevention of Graves Disease.

• Vitamin B12 - possibly used for prevention of Vitamin B12 deficiency
• more preventions...»

Read more about prevention of Graves Disease

Statistics for Graves Disease

• Medical statistics for Graves Disease
• Prevalence and incidence statistics for Graves Disease
• Death and Mortality statistics for Graves Disease
• Society statistics for Graves Disease

Graves Disease: Broader Related Topics

• Autoimmune diseases
• Autoimmune thyroid diseases
• Thyroid disorders
• Hyperthyroidism
• more types...»

Types of Graves Disease

Stories from Users Related to Graves Disease

• Hyperthyroid..any input or ideas PLEASE HELP!
• Hashimoto's or Graves? Doctors ignore me and I'm so scared
• Feeling hypothyroid, but tests indicate hyperthyroid
• Hyperthyroid or crazy?
• Symptoms Similar To Hyperthyroid And Weight Loss
• ER Visit, UTI? and now Hyperthyroidism?
• Hyperthyroidism-like Symptoms? Please Help Me!?
• it's NOT hyperthyroidism? Then what is it? Please help.
• hyperthyroidism misdiagnosed
• Graves Disease vs. Lymphoma
• Hyperactive Thyroid- Graves
• Graves Disease In Men
• Negative for hyperthyroidism
• Hyperthyroid or crazy?
• Lupron/Lucrin/Lectrum & Hyperthyroidism
• Hyperthyroidism-like Symptoms? Please Help Me!?
• Possible hyperthyroidism? Dunno...
• Graves Disease
• hyperthyroid
• Graves and Hyperthyroid but feel like dying

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User Interactive Forums

Read about other experiences, ask a question about Graves Disease, or answer someone else's question, on our message boards:

• I can not get a diagnosis. Please help.
• Tell us your medical story.
• Share your misdiagnosis story.
• What is the best treatment for this?
• See all the forums.

Article Excerpts about Graves Disease

Endocrine Diseases: NWHIC (Excerpt)

Graves' disease is one of the most common autoimmune diseases, affecting 13 million people and targeting women seven times as often as men. Patients with Graves' disease produce an excessive amount of thyroid hormone. (Source: excerpt from Endocrine Diseases: NWHIC)

Graves' Disease: NWHIC (Excerpt)

Graves' Disease is a type of autoimmune disease in which the immune system over stimulates the thyroid gland, causing hyperthyroidism. Over-activity of the thyroid gland is also sometimes called "diffuse toxic goiter." The thyroid gland helps set the rate of metabolism (the rate at which the body uses energy), and when it is over-stimulated, it produces more thyroid hormones than the body needs. High levels of thyroid hormones can cause difficult side effects. This is an extremely rare disease that tends to affect women over the age of 20. The incidence is about 5 in 10,000 people. (Source: excerpt from Graves' Disease: NWHIC)

Thyroid Disease: NWHIC (Excerpt)

Grave's disease is the most common form of hyperthyroidism. It is an autoimmune condition in which the body produces antibodies that overstimulate the thyroid gland, so that it produces too much thyroid hormone. (Source: excerpt from Thyroid Disease: NWHIC)

Definitions of Graves Disease:

Hyperthyroidism associated with diffuse hyperplasia of the thyroid gland (goiter), resulting from production of antibodies that are directed against the thyrotropin receptor complex of the follicular epithelial cells. As a result, the thyroid gland enlarges and secrets increased amounts of thyroid hormones. --2004 - (Source - Diseases Database)

Exophthalmos occurring in association with goiter; hyperthyroidism with protrusion of the eyeballs - (Source - WordNet 2.1)