Causes Of Graves Disease And How To Treat It

Graves' disease is a treatable condition caused by overproduction of thyroxine; a hormone produced by the thyroid gland. Ongoing medical care is vital to the health and well being of anyone who has been diagnosed with this disease.

Cause and Risk Factors for Grave's Disease

Graves disease is caused by the immune system attacking the thyroid gland and causing it to overproduce thyroxine. Although no cause for this disease is known, there are several risk factors including:

• High stress
• Smoking
• Female gender
• Age (most common between 20 and 40 years)
• Postpartum period
• Exposure to lithium or iodine

Diagnosis

Accurate diagnosis of Graves disease requires several different tests. First, your physician will perform a physical examination and medical history. This examination will include checking the eyes, the size of the thyroid gland, looking for signs of trembling and measuring pulse and blood pressure.

If the disease is suspected, your physician will order a blood sample to be taken and checked for two hormones; thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and thyroxine. Low to normal TSH, but high thyroxine levels, confirm hyperthyroidism. However, to determine weather the hyperthyroidism is due to Graves, further testing is required.

A radioactive iodine uptake test may be ordered to give a definitive diagnosis. Radioactive iodine will be injected into your blood and the rate at which it is absorbed into the thyroid gland will be measured. A fast uptake of the iodine from the bloodstream to the thyroid indicates Graves disease.

Treatment

No treatment exists to cure Graves disease; all that can be done is to prevent the symptoms associated with it. The main goal of treatment is to control the symptoms by either blocking the production of thyroxine or blocking the action of thyroxine.

Treatment options include:

Beta blockers
Beta-blockers relieve the symptoms of rapid heart rate, high blood pressure, and tremors, although they do not block the actions of thyroxine. Propranolol, atenolol, and metoprolol are most-commonly prescribed. However, additional therapies should be administered to address the high thyroxine production.

Anti-thyroid medications
Anti-thyroid medications, such as methimazole and propylthiouracil, block the thyroid gland from producing too much thyroxine. While long-term treatment with these drugs can cause the disease to go into remission, relapses are common.

Patients typically stay on these drugs for 6 months to 2 years depending on the severity of the disease and the response to the medication. These drugs are usually well tolerated. Minor side effects such as rash, fever, sore throat and nausea are seen in 1 of every 8 patients.

Radioactive iodine treatment
Iodine is needed to produce thyroid hormone. Treatment with radioactive iodine in an injection or a capsule causes the iodine to collect in the thyroid gland and destroy the overactive cells.

Over time, the thyroid gland will shrink and produce less thyroxin. Life-long thyroxine treatment is usually necessary to offset these effects.

Surgery
A final treatment option, surgery, is available if other therapies fail or if the patient has serious complications such as a goiter compressing the airway. Several different types of thyroid surgery exist including a total removal of the thyroid gland, a subtotal thyroidectomy, where the bulk of the thyroid gland is removed and a bilateral subtotal thyroidectomy, where most of each lobe of the gland is removed.

Subtotal thyroidectomy is the most commonly performed surgery with a total removal reserved for special circumstances. Treatment outcomes among the different surgery types are similar. Thyroxine treatment is necessary in many patients after the surgery to maintain normal thyroid hormone levels.

Prognosis

The outlook for patients with Graves disease is positive if they receive prompt treatment for their condition and medical care is essential. This is an illness in which treatment is absolutely necessary. Untreated Graves disease can result in potentially life-threatening complications and even early death.

Patients must be continually monitored for hypothyroidism, which may warrant additional treatment if detected. Because it cannot be cured, patients must remain vigilant in taking medications and attending scheduled checkups. Patients must also be vigilant with their diets and consume plant foods in abundance which are rich in phytonutrients and other natural vitamins in order to help alleviate the symptoms of Graves Disease.

Patients must maintain a healthy weight and, in the presence of hypothyroidism and a lower metabolic rate, this can be challenging. Sufferers must be educated about how to eat nutritious, phytonutrient and vitamin rich lower calorie meals and to exercise regularly in order to offset the effects of a lower metabolism.

Patients with Graves disease are also prone to depression, and especially so if they also show physical symptoms of Graves ophthalmology. These patients often have a low self-image, are dissatisfied with their appearance and are more socially isolated. Aside from regular exercise and maintenance of a healthy body weight, identifying and socializing with family, friends and support groups can also improve quality of life and provide these patients with a better outlook on life.

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