1/879. Membranous glomerulonephritis associated with Graves' disease. Renal involvement in thyroid diseases is an unusual event. Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) associated vasculitis has been reported in propylthiouracil-treated patients. Membranous glomerulonephritis has been reported in association with both antithyroglobulin and thyroid antimicrosomal antibodies. The development of membranous glomerulonephritis may be associated with administration of 131I. We present a patient who developed membranous glomerulonephritis after administration of 131I. The clinical and pathological features of renal involvement in thyroid diseases are reviewed. ( info) |
2/879. Monocular involuntary eyelid closure. OBJECTIVES: Monocular blepharospasm (MBLS) is precipitated by ipsilateral ocular pathology and becomes bilateral over time. Two patients are reported with monocular visual disturbance exhibiting monocular involuntary eyelid closure (MIEC), resembling MBLS. MATERIAL AND methods: A 31-year-old female with hyperthyroidism developed monocular polyopia with left eye vision on binocular fixation followed by ipsilateral visual extinction. Monocular vision was otherwise normal. A 57-year-old male with renal failure developed monocular blindness secondary to retinal hemorrhage. RESULTS: The first patient had anisocoria and proptosis. brain magnetic resonance (MR) was normal. The second patient had involuntary movements of the left eye. head computerized tomography (CT) was normal. Both patients exhibited MIEC of the eye with visual impairment that could be overcome voluntarily, but reappeared upon distraction. Neither of the two developed BLS in long-term follow-up. CONCLUSION: MIEC represents a complication of ipsilateral ocular pathology in the absence of other involuntary movements, apraxia of eyelid opening, or blepharospasm (BLS). MIEC needs to be distinguished from MBLS, since not all MBLS becomes bilateral. ( info) |
3/879. methimazole embryopathy: delineation of the phenotype. We report on a further case of congenital anomalies in a child exposed to methimazole during the first trimester of pregnancy (from first to seventh gestational week), and define a specific malformation pattern related to prenatal methimazole exposure and consisting of choanal and esophageal atresia, scalp defects, minor facial anomalies and psychomotor delay. ( info) |
4/879. Systemic adverse effect of antithyroid drugs. Antithyroid drugs adverse effects are varied and rare. Autoimmune disorders (vasculitis, lupus erythematosus, polyarthritis...) are unusual and serious complications of antithyroid drugs. Since 1945, fewer than 100 cases of systemic manifestations related to antithyroid drugs have been reported in the literature, most frequently with propylthiouracil. The outcome is usually good after drug discontinuation, but some fatal cases have been reported. Because possible cross-sensitivity with other antithyroid drugs, the appropriate treatment for hyperthyroidism relapse if a patient has had an antithyroid drug adverse reaction, should be 131I-iodine or surgery. We report four new cases of systemic manifestations during propylthiouracil therapy. ( info) |
5/879. Development of primary hypothyroidism with the appearance of blocking-type antibody to thyrotropin receptor in Graves' disease in late pregnancy. Spontaneous remission of Graves' disease with a decrease of thyroid stimulating antibody (TSAb) activity is commonly observed in pregnancy. In this article, however, a Graves' patient who developed primary hypothyroidism with an appearance of thyroid stimulation-blocking antibody (TSBAb) activity in late pregnancy is reported. A 25-year-old woman presented with clinical and biochemical hyperthyroidism with an elevation of 99mTcO4- thyroid uptake (4.7%; normal range, 0.7%-3.0%) and mildly elevated activity of thyrotropin-binding inhibitory immunoglobulin (TBII; 30.4%). She was euthyroid with normal TBII (8.0%) and TSAb (126%) before pregnancy, when the patient was taking a 5-mg daily dose of methimazole (MMI). MMI was stopped by the patient when she became pregnant. Subsequently, the patient progressed into primary hypothyroidism with a marked elevation of TBII activity (78.4%) in the third trimester of the pregnancy (at that time, TSAb activity was not detected). TSBAb measured 2 weeks later was detected at the activity of 85.0%. Replacement therapy was initiated with levothyroxine (LT4) (0.05-0.1 mg/day), which was discontinued on the 55th day postpartum because of the onset of mild thyrotoxicosis followed by short-term euthyroid state despite high TSBAb activity. Subsequently, because the patient developed primary hypothyroidism 5 months after delivery, replacement therapy with LT4 (0.1-0.125 mg/day) was readministered. Thus, it is suggested that the development of hypothyroidism with the appearance of TSBAb in Graves' patients can occur even in late pregnancy. ( info) |
6/879. Development of Graves' hyperthyroidism from primary hypothyroidism in a case of thyroid hemiagenesis. We report a 42-year-old female with right thyroid hemiagenesis who initially presented with hypothyroidism and then developed hyperthyroidism. The serum titer of thyroid-stimulating antibody was weakly positive in the initial hypothyroid state, and then markedly increased along with the development of hyperthyroidism, while thyroid stimulation-blocking antibody was continuously negative throughout the observation period. Thyroid histology of biopsied specimens during the hypothyroid state demonstrated diffuse thyroiditis with mononuclear cell infiltrations; however, the histology during the hyperthyroid state showed hyperplasia in follicular epithelial cells accompanied by partial lymphocyte infiltration. This is the first case of thyroid hemiagenesis associated with a conversion from primary hypothyroidism due to Hashimoto's thyroiditis to hyperthyroidism due to Graves' disease. ( info) |
7/879. Multifocal fibrosclerosis presenting as Grave's orbitopathy. Bilateral exophthalmos associated with retroperitoneal and sellar fibrosis. BACKGROUND: Multifocal fibrosclerosis (MF) is a rare disease that may be misdiagnosed as Graves' orbitopathy. The combination of localisations of MF presented here has not been reported before. CASE REPORT: A 44-year-old man was referred with progressive bilateral exophthalmos. CT of his chest and abdomen revealed an intrathoracic and retroperitoneal peri-aortal soft-tissue process with hydronephrosis. Histological examination of orbital masses showed a fibrous process with low inflammatory activity. Later the sella was found to be involved as well. A diagnosis of MF was made. CONCLUSION: MF should be considered in the differential diagnosis of bilateral exophthalmos. ( info) |
8/879. Cryopathic gangrene with an IgM lambda cryoprecipitating cold agglutinin. Immunochemical and serologic studies of cold agglutinis in patients with chronic cold agglutinin disease (CCAD) have shown the almost exclusive occurrence of IgM kappa antibodies with specificity for the I antigen of red cells. An unusual subgroup of patients has been delineated in which the cryoprotein is IgM lambda, frequently lacks I specificity and often cryoprecipitates. Studies of such a protein from a patient with an unusual array of immunoproliferative disorders including Grave's disease with exophthalmos and Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia indicate that the cryoprecipitating and cold agglutinating properties probably derive from the sam protein. The occurrence of this type of antibody should suggest the presence of a more aggressive lymphoproliferative disorder than simple CCAD. ( info) |
9/879. Parasitic nodule of the thyroid in a patient with Graves' disease. We report a case of a parasitic nodule of the thyroid in a patient with Graves' disease, which mimicked a lymph node metastasis from a primary occult thyroid carcinoma. The patient was a 67-year-old Japanese woman with a past history of subtotal thyroidectomy for Graves' disease, who was referred to our hospital because of a right cervical mass. A lymph node-like lesion measuring 1.5 cm in diameter was palpable, distinct from the remnant of the right thyroid lobe. Thyroid scintigraphy using 123I-Na revealed a hot lesion at the upper lateral portion of the right thyroid lobe, and this was resected. Microscopically, the mass showed thyroid follicles with lymphocytic infiltration and lymphoid follicles. Clear ground glass nuclei, nuclear grooving and intranuclear inclusions were not observed. No morphological evidence of the lymph node was found in the mass by reticulin staining. Parasitic nodules of the thyroid in patients with Graves' disease may mimic a metastatic carcinoma of the thyroid. ( info) |
10/879. Appearance of anti TSH-receptor antibodies and clinical Graves' disease after radioiodine therapy for hyperfunctioning thyroid adenoma. Radioiodine treatment use is frequent in patients with benign hyperfunctioning thyroid diseases and the side-effects are rare. In this paper we described the appearance of TSH-receptor antibodies and the concomitant development of persistent hyperthyroidism in a patient with hyperfunctioning thyroid adenoma after 131I treatment. A 70-year-old man presented a hyperfunctioning thyroid adenoma with suppressed uptake in the adjacent normal gland. antibodies against the thyroglobulin (TgAb), thyroid peroxidase (TPOAb) and TSH-receptor (TRAb) were absent. One year after remission by radioiodine therapy the patient developed severe and persistent hyperthyroidism associated with diffuse 131I uptake in the gland. TgAb and TPOAb remained absent, but TRAb were present. Although spontaneous development of Graves' disease cannot be excluded, the time sequence and the negative familial and personal history for autoimmune diseases suggest a possible connection between the two phenomena. The release of TSH-receptor antigen from follicular cells damaged by 131I may have triggered the autoimmune response turning a toxic nodular goiter patient into a Graves' disease patient. ( info) |