Graves-Basedow disease

Graves-Basedow disease is a form of thyroiditis, an autoimmune disorder that stimulates the thyroid gland, being the most common cause of hyperthyroidism (overactivity of the thyroid). Also known in the English-speaking world simply as Graves' disease, it occurs most frequently in women (8:1 compared to men) of middle age. Symptoms include fatigue, weight loss and rapid heart beat. Because similar antibodies to those stimulating the thyroid also affect the eye, eye symptoms are also commonly reported. Treatment is with medication that reduces the production of thyroid hormone (thyroxin), surgery thyroidectomy or with radioactive iodine if refractory.

History

Ljunggren (1983) suggests that the Persian physician Sayyid Ismail Al-Jurjani should be credited with recognising the disease, having noted the association of goitre and exophthalmos, in "Thesaurus of the Shah of Khwarazm", the most famous of his five books, and the major medical dictionary of its time.

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Caleb Hillier Parry (1755-1822) first noted the clinical picture in 1786, and it is reported in his posthumous collection of unpublished writings in 1825. It was also described by the Italians Giuseppe Flajani (1741-1808) in 1802 and Antonio Giuseppe Testa (1756-1814) in 1810. Robert James Graves (1797-1853) of Ireland in 1835, and Karl Adolph von Basedow of Germany. in 1840, independently reported the constellation of symptoms. On the European Continent the term Basedow's disease is the more common, while it is known as Graves' disease in the English-speaking world.

Related Topics:
Caleb Hillier Parry - Giuseppe Flajani - Antonio Giuseppe Testa - Robert James Graves - Ireland - 1835 - Karl Adolph von Basedow - Germany - 1840

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