Radioiodine treatment of hyperthyroidism

Hyperthyroidism is a clinical symptom complex caused by elevated thyroid hormone levels. Of the disorders in which it appears, the most common is Graves' disease; toxic nodular goiter (Plummer's disease) is considerably less frequent. Recent studies suggest that Graves' disease is autoimmune in origin and is probably caused by a genetic defect in immunoserveillance in which thyroid-stimulating antibodies interact with thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) receptor sites on thyroid follicular cell membranes to increase synthesis and secretion of thyroid hormones. Toxic nodular goiter is characterized by the secretion of increased amounts of thyroid hormone by localized autonomous areas of increased function within the thyroid gland. Other forms of hyperthyroidism are discussed. Radioiodine treatment of hyperthyroidism is described