Unilateral Graves' Disease: The Lesser Known

Area of Science:

• Endocrinology
• Nuclear Medicine

Background:

• Retrospective study (2009-2018) analyzing 15 Graves' disease patients.
• Patients presented with clinical or biochemical hyperthyroidism and varied ultrasound findings.
• ^99mTc thyroid scintigraphy revealed unilateral radioactive tracer uptake.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the phenomenon of unilateral thyroid uptake in Graves' disease.
• To describe the clinical and scintigraphic characteristics of this presentation.
• To highlight the potential existence of a 'unilateral Graves' disease' entity.

Main Methods:

• Review of 15 patients diagnosed with Graves' disease.
• Analysis of clinical features, thyroid hormone levels, and ultrasonographic findings.
• Evaluation of ^99mTc thyroid scintigraphy scans demonstrating asymmetric tracer uptake.

Main Results:

• 13 females and 2 males, mean age 47 years.
• Unilateral increased ^99mTc uptake observed in all 15 patients.
• Eight patients showed uptake in the right lobe, seven in the left lobe.

Conclusions:

• Graves' disease can manifest with unilateral thyroidal uptake on scintigraphy.
• This presentation suggests a distinct subtype, termed 'unilateral Graves' disease'.
• Further research is warranted to fully characterize this condition.