Table 1.
Clinical characteristics of the subjects for genotyping
| GD | HD | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Controls | Intractable | In remission | Severe | Mild | |
| n (female/male) | 118 (78/40) | 60 (50/10) | 45 (39/6) | 59 (47/12) | 41 (35/6) |
| Age of onset (years) (range) | 37·0 ± 14·6‡ (21∼66) | 34·5 ± 14·7 (11∼71) | 33·4 ± 14·3 (10∼67) | 37·1 ± 11·1 (10∼49) | 62·2 ± 10·9‡ (50∼92) |
| Goitre size (cm) | n.d. | 4·8 ± 1·3 | 4·2 ± 0·7 | 4·1 ± 1·0 | 4·5 ± 1·1 |
| Free T4 (ng/dl) | n.d. | 1·2 ± 0·3 | 1·2 ± 0·1 | 1·3 ± 0·3 | 1·2 ± 0·2 |
| Free T3 (pg/dl) | n.d. | 2·7 ± 0·5 | 2·7 ± 0·4 | 2·6 ± 0·6 | 2·8 ± 0·4 |
| TSH (μU/ml) | n.d. | 1·8 ± 1·4 | 1·9 ± 1·3 | 4·8 ± 16·9 | 2·7 ± 1·6 |
| TRAb (IU/l) (range) | <2·0 | 6·1 ± 11 (2∼71)* | <2·0 | <2·0 | <2·0 |
| TgAb (2n × 100) | Negative | 3·6 ± 3·0 | 2·9 ± 3·2 | 6·8 ± 3·4** | 3·6 ± 4·4 |
| McAb (2n × 100) | Negative | 5·1 ± 2·3 | 5·4 ± 2·1 | 5·0 ± 3·2 | 3·3 ± 3·0 |
| Current treatment | None | Methimazole or PTU | None | L-thyroxine | None |
| Duration of treatment (years) | None | 12·1 ± 6·7 | 3·0 ± 1·2§ | 10·0 ± 8·5 | None |
| Current dose of anti-thyroid drug (mg/day) (range)† | None | 12·4 ± 11·5 (2·5∼50) | None | None | None |
| Current dose of L-thyroxine drug (μg/day) (range) | None | None | None | 88·7 ± 39·0 (25∼250) | None |
Data are means ± standard deviations.
*
P < 0·01 [versus Graves' disease (GD) in remission].
**
P < 0·01 [versus mild Hashimoto's disease (HD)].
†
Doses were expressed as comparable doses of methimazole [50 mg of propylthiouracil (PTU) was converted to 5 mg of methimazole].
‡
Age at the time of sampling.
§
Duration of treatment with anti-thyroid drug before remission.
T4 = thyroxine; T3 = triiodothyronine; TSH = thyrotrophin; TRAb = anti-thyrotrophin receptor antibody; McAb = anti-thyroid microsomal antibody; n.d. = not determined; TgAb = anti-thyroglobulin antibody.