Graves' Disease with Thymic Hyperplasia: The Response of the Thyroid Function, Thyrotropin Receptor Autoantibody, and Thymic Size to Thiamazole Treatment

Intern Med. 2022 Sep 15;61(18):2753-2757. doi: 10.2169/internalmedicine.8710-21. Epub 2022 Feb 26.

Abstract

We treated a 22-year-old woman suffering from Graves' disease and thymic hyperplasia. She was referred to our institution for a close investigation of thyrotoxicosis and thymic mass. Thyroid tests and magnetic resonance imaging resulted in a diagnosis of Graves' disease and thymic hyperplasia. The thyroid function and thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor antibody (TRAb) were normalized one and five months after thiamazole initiation, respectively. The thymic size began to decrease after 1 month and was further decreased after 5 months; it was normalized after 12 months. The correlation between TRAb titers and the thymic size (R2=0.99) suggested that the patient's autoimmunity might have contributed to the thymic hyperplasia.

Keywords: Graves' disease; sIL-2R; soluble interleukin-2 receptor; thymic hyperplasia.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Autoantibodies
  • Female
  • Graves Disease* / complications
  • Graves Disease* / diagnosis
  • Graves Disease* / drug therapy
  • Humans
  • Methimazole / therapeutic use
  • Receptors, Thyrotropin
  • Thymus Hyperplasia* / diagnostic imaging
  • Thymus Hyperplasia* / drug therapy
  • Thyrotropin
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • Autoantibodies
  • Receptors, Thyrotropin
  • Methimazole
  • Thyrotropin