Most Graves’ Disease Treated With Antithyroid Drugs

Adults with Graves’ disease are more likely to receive drug treatment — despite a higher failure rate — than radioactive iodine therapy or thyroid surgery, according to findings published in Thyroid.

“We are noticing that more people with Graves’ disease are treated with antithyroid drugs than radioactive iodine or surgery; and one fourth of people treated with antithyroid drugs will receive it as long-term — more than 2 years,” Juan P. Brito, MD, MSc, principal investigator for the Knowledge and Evaluation Research Unit in Endocrinology in the division of endocrinology, diabetes, metabolism and nutrition of the department of medicine at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, told Healio. “A significant number of people with Graves’ disease are receiving antithyroid drugs chronically. This way of treatment was known in other countries, particularly in Asia, but unknown here in the U.S.”