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Guidelines for sites linking to mayoclinic.orgMayo Clinic is a leader in the diagnosis, treatment and research of Graves' disease and the eye changes associated with Graves' disease called Graves' ophthalmopathy. Approximately 1,500 patients who have Graves' disease are treated at Mayo Clinic each year. This condition is usually corrected with medication or radioactive iodine; however, in some cases it requires surgical removal of the thyroid gland. Mayo surgeons have specialized in thyroid surgery for more than 100 years.
Since Graves' disease may also affect the tissue behind the eyes and skin on the lower legs and feet — as well as the endocrine system — ophthalmologists and dermatologists often work with endocrinologists on the care team. Mayo Clinic has a specialized endocrinology and ophthalmology team with a long history of treating and researching Graves' ophthalmopathy.
Graves' disease is diagnosed by a physical exam and confirmed with blood tests to assess thyroid function and measure thyroid antibodies. For Graves' disease patients with eye symptoms, an imaging test is used to examine the eyes and eye sockets. Read more about Graves' disease diagnosis.
Antithyroid drugs, radioiodine therapy and surgery to remove the thyroid gland are effective treatments for Graves' disease. Mayo's thyroid surgeons perform subtotal thyroidectomy surgery, an operation that removes the majority of the gland so that the thyroid does not overproduce thyroid hormones. This disease may also affect the eyes and skin, in which case a combination of treatments is often used. Read more about Graves' disease treatment options.
Graves' disease is the most common form of hyperthyroidism, an overactive thyroid gland. It is an autoimmune disorder caused by stimulation of the thyroid gland by an antibody called thyroid stimulating immunoglobulin (TSI). Because of Graves' disease, the immune system mistakenly attacks the thyroid gland — and sometimes tissue behind the eyes or skin on the lower legs.
Graves' disease occurs in women eight times more frequently than in men. Its onset is typically in middle age, although it can be diagnosed in children and older patients.
Read more at www.MayoClinic.com
A service of Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
A team headed by Mayo Clinic researcher Rebecca Bahn, M.D., discovered that a specific protein in the thyroid attacked in Graves' disease is also present in the cells behind the eyes. Read more about Graves' disease research at Mayo.
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