ENDOCRINOLOGY - II
Therapy 

The Quarterly Journal of Nuclear Medicine 1999 December;43(4):297-306

Copyright © 2000 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

The role of nuclear medicine in the management of Graves’ disease

Freitas J. E.

From the Nuclear Medicine Services St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, Ann Arbor, MI, USA Internal Medicine University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

131I ther­a­py is ­safe and effec­tive for ­most Graves’ dis­ease ­patients. It is ­being ­used ­more fre­quent­ly in pre­vi­ous­ly restrict­ed pop­u­la­tions ­such as chil­dren, ado­les­cents, and wom­en of child­bear­ing age. It ­affords ­prompt, con­sis­tent ­relief of hyper­thyr­oi­dism, but per­ma­nent hypo­thy­roid­ism ­ensues in ­almost all ­patients. This com­pli­ca­tion is read­i­ly diag­nosed ­with mod­ern in ­vitro ­assays and inex­pen­sive, ­life-­long replace­ment ther­a­py ren­ders the ­patient asymp­to­mat­ic and ­able to ­resume a nor­mal life­style. Recent chang­es in NRC require­ments ­have fur­ther lib­er­al­ized the use of 131I for Graves’ dis­ease in the USA, per­mit­ting ­more ­patients to be treat­ed ­with effec­tive out­pa­tient ther­a­py. The con­tro­ver­sial ­role of 131I in exac­er­ba­tion of GO has ­been fur­ther clar­i­fied and pre­ven­tive meas­ures are avail­able.