Medical Treatment of Graves' Disease
10.11106/ijt.2019.12.2.79
- Author:
Hyun Kyung CHUNG
1
Author Information
1. Division of Endocrinology, Department of Internal Medicine, Dankook University Hospital, Cheonan, Korea. chkendo@dankook.ac.kr
- Publication Type:Review
- Keywords:
Graves' disease;
Antithyroid drug;
Remission
- MeSH:
Adult;
Antithyroid Agents;
Graves Disease;
Humans;
Immunomodulation;
Iodine;
Korea
- From:International Journal of Thyroidology
2019;12(2):79-84
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
Among the three treatment modalities of Graves' disease which include antithyroid drug (ATD), radioactive iodine and surgery, the ATD is most commonly preferred in Korea due to ease of use and definite curative effects on the thyrotoxic symptoms. However, several uncertainties about ATD remain: for example, the mechanism of actions on immune modulation, differences in the effects of drugs among individuals and associated factors in the view of remission. In recent years, long-term ATD treatment has been confirmed as an effective and safe therapy modality in adults, and several treatment guidelines have been released which accept long-term ATD therapy as an acceptable alternative to ablative therapy in Graves' patients. In this review, we summarize the recent progress in understanding the clinical role of ATD and emerging new antithyroid drugs focusing on immunomodulation.
