Disseminated thyroid autonomy or Graves' disease: reevaluation by a second generation TSH receptor antibody assay

The clinical diagnosis of disseminated autonomy (DISA) can only be established by exclusion of Graves' disease (GD). Both hyperthyroid conditions share the same scintigraphic appearance and can only be distinguished from each other clinically either by the presence or absence of endocrine ophthalmopathy (EO) or thyrotropin (TSH) binding inhibiting immunoglobulins (TBIIs). The purpose of this study was the reevaluation of thyroid autonomies originally classified as DISAs by a second-generation radioreceptor antibody assay (RAA) (DYNOtest TRAKhuman) (B.R.A.H.M.S. Diagnostika, Berlin, Germany). The analysis included 32 patients (female: n = 25, male: n = 7; mean age: 46 +/- 18 years) who were initially diagnosed with DISA. All patients were TSH receptor (TSHR) antibody (TRAb) negative by a conventional radioimmunoassay (RIA) (TSH-REZAK RIA) (Medipan Diagnostica, Selchow, Germany) during their first evaluation. The presence of EO was excluded by clinical signs in all patients. Surgery had been performed prior to our evaluation in 5 patients and after our survey in 1 patient. Four patients had been treated previously with 131I. Ten patients were treated with thionamides during our evaluation, and 13 had not been treated before. One hundred three patients who had either healthy thyroids, nontoxic goiters, or focal autonomies served as controls and were evaluated both by the TSH-REZAK assay and the DYNOtest TRAKhuman assay. Seven of thirty-two (22%) patients originally classified as DISA were TRAb positive in the second-generation assay. In this group, 5 of 7 patients had a total thyroid volume (TTV) <30 mL (positive predictive value [PPW] for TRAb positivity 71%), and 5 of 7 patients had a diffuse goiter (PPW for TRAb-positivity 71%). Six of seven patients were anti-thyroperoxidase (TPO) positive (PPW for TRAb positivity 85%). A hypoechoid pattern on ultrasound was present by visual analysis in 3 of 7 patients (PPW for TRAb positivity 43%). A 100% PPW for TRAb positivity could be obtained if a goiter <30 ml was combined with anti-TPO positivity, but this combination was present in only 4 of 7 (57%) patients. With the second-generation assay, one false positive test result was observed in the control group. Surgery was performed in 6 patients who were TRAb negative in both assays. In all these cases, the histologic findings were compatible with autonomous transformation of the thyroid. Our study demonstrates that a significant number (22%) of patients formerly classified as DISA may actually have GD. However, DISA still exists as a clinical entity, and its pathophysiological link to multifocal and unifocal autonomy should be further investigated.