Grave's Disease
Grave's Disease is a condition caused by hyperactivity of the thyroid gland. Due to hyperthyroidism, a person appears nervous and anxious. This is due to the higher metabolic rate set by overactive thyroid. The body's immune system is trigerred. Typically Graves disease affects women in the age group of 20 - 40 years.
Symptoms of Graves disease include rapid heartbeat, anxiety and difficulty in sleeping. A person suffering from Graves disease experiences increased sensitivity to heat and moist skin. In cases of Graves' ophthalmopathy, the eyes may appear reddened or inflamed. There is increased sensitivity to light and the ears may experience excessive tearing. Other symptoms of Graves disease are bulging eyes and enlarged thyroid gland. Graves disease can bring about weight loss. Patient suffering from Graves disease may have increased sweating, hand tremors and muscular weakness. Women may have infertility problems.
Blood levels of thyroid hormones - thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and thyroxinecan help in identifying Graves disease. A short course of radioactive iodine helps in reducing the hyperactivity of the thyroid. This treatment shrinks the thyroid cells. Sometimes the thyroid is removed, in part or completely. Anti thyroid medications such as propylthiouracil and methimazole are prescribed to reduce the production of thyroid hormones.
Myxoedema
Lack of thyroid hormones causes hypothyroidism. Prolonged hypothyroidism can lead to myxoedema. Myxoedema is a disorder of the skin and tissue owing to long term hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism occurs due to surgical removal of thyroid glands, atrophic diseases, etc. Partial myxoedema/myxedema, can affect the lower legs of the person, this condition is referred to as pretibial myxedema. Rarely Grave’s disease can also lead to pretibial myxedema. This condition is very common in women, in particular middle aged women. Myxodema is also known as Gull’s disease. If this condition is left untreated, it can cause myxoedema coma. Myxoedema can be classified into myxoedema and operative myxoedema.
Myxoedema is accompanied by the following symptoms - coarse skin, thickening nose, thickening of the skin, puffiness of the eyes, swollen
lips, mental disturbances, muscle pain abd lethargy. In advanced cases the thyroid gland shrinks and becomes a fibrous mass. Persons suffering from myxoedma might also suffer brittle hair, weight gain and constipation.
Blood tests are done to check for T3, T4, and TSH levels in the blood. Thyroid profile result helps in diagnosing the condition. In few cases nuclear imaging of the gland is done to study the gland. Thyroid biopsy is not required to diagnose this condition. Treating hypothyroidism is the treatment for myxoedema. Hypothyroidism is treated through thyroid hormone replacement therapy. In advanced cases of myxoedema, treatment gets difficult.
Thyroglobulin test
The thyroid gland is a small gland, which is located at the lower front of the neck. The thyroid gland takes thyroglobulin, a protein found within itself to make thyroid hormones namely, thyroxine and triiodothymnine. In order to measure the amount of thyroglobulin in the blood, thyroglobulin test is done. The blood sample of the concerned individual is taken for conducting the thyroglobulin test. A needle is inserted into the veins in the arm to collect blood.
A thyroglobulin test is ordered under different circumstances. Thyroglobulin, as such, is used as a tumor marker. Thyroglobulin test is used to detect thyroid cancer. After detection of thyroid cancer and subsequent to treatment or surgery, in order to check and confirm recurrence, thyroglobulin test will be ordered. Thyroglobulin test may also be done on a periodical basis post thyroid cancer surgery to ensure that the tumor has not reoccurred or spread. The test is also recommended for patients who have symptoms of a thyroid disorder such as Grave’s disease or thyroiditis. Thyroglobulin test is also ordered to check the efficacy of treatment in patients who have been prescribed anti-thyroid medications for some time.
Often several thyroglobulin levels are determined in a serial of samples to enable look at its change in concentration. The change provides more information than a single value. It is essential to have the serial thyroglobulin tests performed at the same laboratory as different test methods may produce different results in different diagnostic centres. Test results need to be discussed with your doctor. Based on these results, a doctor could follow up with a radioactive iodine scan or identify treatments to destroy remaining normal thyroid tissue or thyroid cancer if any.
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