Long-Term Treatment of Hyperthyroidism with Antithyroid Drugs: 35 Years of Personal Clinical Experience.

Background

None of the current therapeutic approaches for management of Graves' disease has been able to re-establish normal thyroid function in all patients.

Objective

To describe the author's 35 years of personal experience in the management of Graves' hyperthyroidism and, in doing so, review current articles published on the long-term medical treatment of hyperthyroidism.

Methods

All published articles related to ≥4 years of continuous antithyroid drug (ATD) treatment were searched. Findings were added and compared with studies published by the authors on the same topic.

Results

Long-term ATD treatment is effective and safe, both in children and adults, for treatment of hyperthyroidism. Treatment of Graves' patients with ATDs >60 months causes euthyroidism up to 4 years after discontinuation of ATDs in the majority of patients. Long-term ATD therapy is not inferior to radioiodine therapy and may sometimes even be superior in some aspects, when considering serum lipid profile, cardiac function, mood, and cognition.

Conclusions

Long-term ATD therapy for Graves' hyperthyroidism is efficient and safe and induces control of hyperthyroidism, without rendering the patient hypothyroid in the majority of patients.