Immunologic aspects of thyroid disease.

Graves' disease and Hashimoto's thyroiditis are autoimmune processes considered distinct diseases in light of current knowledge. In Graves' disease, antibodies directed against the thyrotropin receptor of the thyroid cell stimulate the gland to hyperfunction. The ophthalmopathy of Graves' disease may result from a different autoimmune reaction, directed against orbital tissue. In Hashimoto's thyroiditis, humoral and cellular immune processes are directed against elements of the thyroid cell and result in destruction and glandular hypofunction.