Table 2.
Serum concentrations of thyroid hormones, TSH and TRAb in Graves’ patients during 24 years of continuous long-term MMI treatment
| Baseline | Years of very long-term MMI treatment | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 24 | ||
| Number | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 16 | 11 |
| Serum fT4 (pmol/L)* | 39.1 ± 9.2 | 16.9 ± 2.3 | 16.3 ± 2.3 | 16.2 ± 2.4 | 16.1 ± 2.5 | 16.3 ± 2.4 | 16.2 ± 2.2 |
| Serum T3 (ng/dL)* | 401 ± 126 | 135 ± 18 | 127 ± 18 | 129 ± 21 | 125 ± 18 | 123 ± 17 | 124 ± 17 |
| Serum TSH (mU/L)† | |||||||
| Mean ± SD | All < 0.1 | 1.5 ± 1.6 | 2.5 ± 1.6 | 2.6 ± 1.6 | 2.5 ± 1.0 | 2.4 ± 1.2 | 2.7 ± 0.7 |
| Median (IQR) | All < 0.1 | 0.6 (0.2–2.4) | 2.4 (1.0–3.1) | 2.5 (1.5–3.3) | 2.5 (1.9–3.1) | 2.5 (1.8–2.9) | 2.8 (2.6–3.1) |
| Serum TRAb (IU/mL)† | |||||||
| Mean ± SD | 14.0 ± 7.0 | 1.2 ± 0.7 | 1.2 ± 0.6 | 1.1 ± 0.6 | 1.0 ± 0.6 | 1.0 ± 0.5 | 0.9 ± 0.4 |
| Median (IQR) | – | 1.2 (0.6–1.4) | – | 1.1 (0.5–1.4) | 1.0 (0.4–1.3) | – | 0.9 (0.4–1.2) |
*Values are mean ± standard deviation
†Normally distributed values. Serum concentrations of TSH and TRAb were in normal range after 6 years of treatment
fT4 free thyroxine, T3 triiodothyronine, TSH thyrotropin, TRAb TSH receptor antibody, MMI methimazole