Graves disease: evolution and prognosis after eight months of treatment with methimazole.

ABSTRACT

We studied 26 patients with Graves disease, from a population with sufficient iodine supply, treated with high doses of methyl mercaptoimidazole (MMI) during eight moths. We evaluated a) their evolution after treatment withdrawal; b) the correlation between evolution and TSH-receptor antibodies (TRAb), thyroid hormone levels, microsomal antibodies (MAb), T3/T4 index and clinical data; c) their prognosis. The patients were followed during 12-60 months, and blood samples were collected before treatment withdrawal. Out of 26 patients, 20 relapsed, with T3/T4 index and TRAb significantly higher than those under remission. The T3/T4 index correlated with TRAb. All the TRAb-positive patients, and only 57.1