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Graves’ Disease

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Compendium of Inflammatory Diseases

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Definition

Graves’ disease (GD) is an autoimmune disorder that affects the thyroid and a variety of other body tissues including orbital fibroblasts and skin. In the thyroid, thyrotropin (TSH) receptor (TSHR) autoantibodies (TRAbs) bind and activate the TSHR. This induces hypertrophy and hyperplasia of the thyroid follicles leading to goiter while increasing the production of thyroid hormone leading to clinical and biochemical hyperthyroidism. TSHR is also expressed by retro-orbital fibroblasts where TRAbs induce proliferation and adipose accumulation that result in orbitopathy, proptosis, and rarely orbital compression that can threaten or compromise vision. In the skin, TRAbs induce dermopathy and acropachy.

Epidemiology and Genetics

Multiple environmental and genetic factors are associated with the risk to develop Graves’ disease. In Western countries, the annual incidence of Graves’ disease is generally reported as 30–200 cases per 100,000 persons, but as with other autoimmune...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism, Children’s Hospital of Richmond at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA

    Trang Le & Gary L. Francis

Authors
  1. Trang Le
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  2. Gary L. Francis
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Correspondence to Trang Le or Gary L. Francis .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Fraunhofer IME-TMP & JW Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

    Michael J. Parnham

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Le, T., Francis, G.L. (2016). Graves’ Disease. In: Parnham, M.J. (eds) Compendium of Inflammatory Diseases. Springer, Basel. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7643-8550-7_200

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