Grave's Disease Research Paper

Graves ' disease is an immune system disorder that results in the overproduction of thyroid hormones (hyperthyroidism). The thyroid gland is an important organ of the endocrine system. The gland is located at the front of the neck above where the collarbones meet. This gland releases the hormones thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3), which control body metabolism. Controlling metabolism is important for regulating mood, weight, and mental and physical energy levels. When the body makes too much thyroid hormone, the condition is called hyperthyroidism. Graves disease is the most common cause of hyperthyroidism and is most common in women over age 20. But the disorder can occur at any age and can affect men as well. Some of the symptoms of Graves diseases are

Experts aren’t sure the exact cause of Graves’ disease because it is an autoimmune disease. There are certain risk factors associated with Graves’ disease which include genetics, gender, age, pregnancy, mental stress, and smoking. People who have family history of this disease are more likely to develop it. Also females are more likely than males to acquire Graves’ disease and onset of the disease usually occurs after the age of 20. Anatomy affected by this disease is the thyroid gland which is part of the endocrine system. It is located at the back of the neck, below the Adam’s apple. This disease doesn’t destroy the thyroid gland, instead an antibody called thyrotropin receptor antibody makes the thyroid produce large amounts of hormone. The thyroid produces two hormones, thyroxine and triiodothyronine. These hormones affect many body systems and play a key role in regulating the body’s metabolic rate. Excessive secretion of these hormones is what causes the signs and symptoms that have already been described.

Week 3 – LOM Assignment The thyroid is responsible for taking iodine and converting it into thyroid hormones which are released into the blood stream and transported throughout the body where they control metabolism.1 The thyroid is a vital part of the human body as every cell in the body depends on it for metabolic regulation. Too much or too little thyroid hormone secretion can result in hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism. Hyperthyroidism is caused when the thyroid secretes too many thyroid hormones. Hyperthyroidism causes a rapid heart rate, elevated blood pressure and tremors. Other symptoms include increased nervousness, inability to concentrate, weakness, restlessness, difficulty sleeping, frequent bowel movements, weight loss and irregular

You may not have known this before you got news of your condition, but Hashimoto’s disease is the most common cause of hypothyroidism in the developed world, and it affects literally millions of patients. You are definitely not alone with this condition! “Hypothyroidism” is a medical term, and what it means is simply low thyroid

Graves’ Disease is identified as an autoimmune disorder that directly affects the thyroid gland. Characterized as the most common cause of hyperthyroidism, Graves’ Disease encompasses an overactive, enlarged thyroid gland, which produces an excess of thyroid hormones [1]. Approximately 3% of the United States population is affected by Graves’ Disease and 60-80% of patients affected with Graves’ disease are diagnosed with hyperthyroidism [2]. The approximate female to male ratio is 5/1, with majority of those cases being diagnosed in adults over the age of 20. The peak incidence of cases fall between 40-60 years old [3]. In addition, a higher incidence of Graves’ Disease appears in African Americans and persons of Asian descent as compared to Caucasians in the United States.

It is often the first resort for doctors when deciding how to treat their patient. First, a test is administered to determine the appropriate dosage for the individual. This is done by intaking a small quantity of the radioactive iodine, and seeing how the thyroid reacts to it. The more iodine the thyroid absorbs, the smaller the prescribed dosage will be. The drug is taken via pill, and is absorbed only by the thyroid cells; thus, no other cells will be affected by the drug’s radiation. Once ingested, the radiation immediately destroys almost all of the thyroid cells. This form of treatment may sound flawless, but it is not certain. There are numerous risks associated with radioactive iodine therapy. The most common would be hypothyroidism, which is the exact opposite of Grave’s disease. Instead of your thyroid overproducing hormones, the opposite occurs: not enough hormones are produced for the body to metabolize. This results in patients having to take thyroid replacement therapy for the rest of their lives (“Radioactive Iodine for Hyperthyroidism” par. 10). Expecting mother also cannot use RAI because the radiation can damage the fetus’ thyroid, which can have a negative effect on its growth and development. In addition to RAI being risky, it is also not the most efficacious treatment option. It can typically take half a year to successfully eliminate the defective

The patient’s diagnosis is primary overt hypothyroidism. The patient presents with certain features such as weight gain, weakness, excessively dry flaking skin, dry hair, sluggish movements, constipation, bradycardia, diminished deep tendon reflexes, and bilateral edematous hands, which is classical signs and symptoms for primary hypothyroidism. The patient laboratory test reveals she has an elevation in serum thyroid stimulating hormone level along with low serum free thyroxin and triiodthyronine levels, which indicates it is a dysfunction or abnormality in the thyroid gland as opposed to the pituitary gland or hypothalamus (Gaitonde; Lohano; Porth, 2015, p. 780; Ross, 2014).

Hyperthyroidism (too much hormone) may result Grave's disease. Symptoms include anxiety, rapid heart rate, diarrhea and weight loss, nervousness, anxiety, and irritability.

The first (1st) is by prescribing antithyroid medications which help the thyroid from producing too much of the thyroid hormone. The second (2nd) treatment that is recommended is radioactive iodine. This treatment is in pill form that damages the thyroid by giving it radiation. Even in this case, you will most likely end up having to take thyroid medications for the rest of your life. The third (3rd) and last treatment is surgery. This is when they completely remove all of your thyroid which cures the overactive thyroid but in addition from having it removed, you have to take a thyroid hormone to replace what has been removed. Aside from these treatment plans, your doctor may prescribe you a drug called beta-blocker which slows down your heart rate and reduces symptoms of shaking and nervousness. This drug works quickly and helps make you feel better while it takes

Doctor Robert J. Graves, in which this disease was named after, first noticed Graves’ disease in a patient during 1835. However, no one knows what exactly caused this disease; it causes the thyroid gland to produce too much thyroid hormone (hyperthyroidism). In which your immune system then creates an antibody that causes the thyroid to grow and make more thyroid hormone than your body needs. Graves’ disease is a genetic condition that affects women more than men.

The main goal of the treatment is to control the over-production o thyroid hormones. The anti-thyroid medications, for instance, have methimazole and propylthiouracil (PTU), which blocks the production of hormones of the thyroid gland. However, there could be some side effects such as allergies and hyperthyroidism may return if the drug is not being used. Sometimes, radioactive iodine treatment is preferred by doctor because it provides a long-term solution, unlike the medications. According to Toft, “Radioactive iodine works by destroying thyroid tissue cells, thereby reducing your thyroid hormone levels.” RAI is usually given as a capsule or in a water-based solution, and the treatment may take months to be effective. The last type of treatment is the thyroidectomy, which is a surgery. The removal of the thyroid gland may be required for some patients that cannot take or tolerate the medications or when those medications have no effect in controlling the overproduction of T3 and T4. Although the total removal of the thyroid gland treats most of the patients, the surgery always results in hypothyroidism, which is a condition where the body lacks sufficient thyroid hormones. In this case, patients that undergo total thyroidectomy need to intake a daily

The thyroid gland is a two lobed gland that is situated in the neck region on either side of and anterior to the trachea, it also has the parathyroid glands located posteriorly on the thyroid gland. The thyroid gland secretes the Thyroxine (T4) and Triiodothyronine (T3) and Calcitonin. The thyroid gland plays a very important part in metabolism, growth and maturation of the human body, to put it simply it regulates the speed with which your body cells work. For the remaining of this paper the focus will be on what the deficiency of the thyroid hormones cause.

Graves disease is the swelling of the neck and protrusion of the eyes resulting from an overactive thyroid gland. Women are five times more likely to suffer from Graves disease, the most common ages are between 20 and 40 ("Graves' disease." par. 1). It is common for people with Graves disease to get it after they have had an infection or they have been under a lot of physical or mental stress. Graves disease only affects around 0.5% of the population, but it is the underlying cause of hyperthyroidism about 80% of the time (Brent, Gregory A. par. 3). Hyperthyroidism is when your thyroid is overactive, this causes an increased heartbeat and metabolism. I found this topic to be interesting because I’ve never heard of this disease before. Its name caught my attention and when I started a brief search on the disease, I wanted to deeper explore the topic. Graves disease affects many people in many different ways, which can make it hard to diagnose. Many of the small symptoms add up to this dangerous disease

radioactive iodine, which is a pill you take that uses radiation and destroys the thyroid. Cures the overactive thyroid. Then you take a pill to give you thyroid hormone that your body can no longer make.

Autoimmune thyroid diseases are common due to the difficiency of iodine in the diet of most of the patients.