The TSH receptor is a primary antigen in Graves' disease hyperthyroidism, and the presence of TSH-R-specific antibodies are indicative of the condition. Recently, automated assays measuring these antibodies have proved useful in diagnosis, as this article explains.
Graves’ disease (GD) hyperthyroidism is one of the most frequent autoimmune disorders globally, with an annual incidence that varies from 14 to 80 per 100,000 persons per year.1,2 It is more frequent in women than in men (ratio approximately 5:1), and can start at any age including in childhood.3,4 The onset of hyperthyroid symptoms is triggered by an uncontrolled overproduction of the thyroid hormones T3 and T4, causing the classical feature of symptoms including thyrotoxicosis, goitre and ophthalmopathy.1
The main autoantigen in GD is the thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) receptor (TSH-R).5 The identification of a specific serological marker makes the diagnosis of GD more precise and accurate compared to most other autoimmune diseases. The presence of antibodies to TSH-R is a hallmark of GD, and is also used to confirm the cause of the thyrotoxicosis.1 Antibodies to TSH-R, together with ophthalmopathy and/or dermopathy and diffuse elevated thyroid radioiodine uptake, are also major criteria for the diagnosis of the disease.1,6
Thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor
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