Variations in TRAbs in Graves' hyperthyroidism after radioiodine, surgery, or medical therapy

Variations in TRAbs in serum after randomly assigning patients with Graves' hyperthyroidism to radioiodine (n = 36; radioiodine was only given to patients ≥35 years of age), surgery (n = 47), or medical therapy (n = 48). In all groups, patients were kept euthyroid by the addition of levothyroxine therapy as appropriate. Medical therapy was given for 18 months. The values for the patients who needed a treatment other than the randomized are omitted beyond the time the change occurred. Values are mean±SEM. The upper normal reference for the TRAb assay was 10%, as indicated by the straight dashed line. Values before therapy were not different between groups. After therapy, all values were significantly higher for the radioiodine group when compared with values for the medical or surgical therapy groups (p<0.01).