Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsTypes of Basedow’s DiseaseBasedow’s Disease SymptomsCausesDiagnosisTreatmentFrequently Asked Questions
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Types of Basedow’s Disease
Basedow’s Disease Symptoms
Causes
Diagnosis
Treatment
Frequently Asked Questions
Basedow’s diseaseoccurs when thethyroid glandproduces too much thyroid hormone, known ashyperthyroidism. This autoimmune disease is also calledGraves’ disease.
Thethyroidis a butterfly-shaped gland that sits in the front of your throat. It produces hormones that regulate many critical functions in your body, including your metabolism and brain function.
Symptoms of Basedow’s disease can be wide-ranging, including anxiety, diarrhea, and skin abnormalities. However, there are safe and effective treatment options that help most people with this condition live long, full lives.
Verywell / Michela Buttignol
Thehypothalamusandpituitary glandin your brain work together to control thyroid hormone production. Cellular messages tell the hypothalamus when levels are low, and the hypothalamus tells the pituitary to releasethyroid-stimulating hormone, or TSH.
As the name suggests, TSH stimulates the thyroid, telling it to increase hormone production. In Basedow’s disease, your immune system attacks TSH receptors, which cells use to communicate messages. Your thyroid can’t tell the difference between the attack and the messages that come through those same receptors.
As a result, the gland thinks the pituitary gland is sending messages that tell it to increase hormone levels, so it does. And because the receptors keep getting attacked, your thyroid just keeps pumping out the hormone.
What Is an Autoimmune Disease?
Basedow’s disease can present in a couple of different ways based on what complications it causes. These complications are called:
Graves’ Ophthalmopathy
Basedow’s disease affects the eyes of between 25% and 50% of the people who have the condition. Common symptoms of Graves’ ophthalmopathy include:
In fewer than 10% cases, more serious eye problems develop, such as:
Graves’ Dermopathy
Graves’ dermopathy affects the skin. Only a small percentage of people with Basedow’s ever have it. This symptom is also called pretibial myxedema.
Symptoms strike the shins and sometimes the tops of your feet. The skin there gets thick, red, and lumpy. Graves’ dermopathy usually doesn’t cause any pain, but it may in some people.
Basedow’s disease causes the same primary symptoms as other types of hyperthyroidism. They can include:
Complications
Graves’ ophthalmopathy and dermopathy are unique to Basedow’s disease. Other complications include:
These complications typically only develop in people who
8 aren’t properly treated or have severe disease and aren’t properly treated.
Your are at higher risk of developing other autoimmune conditions if Basedow’s disease is present. Some that have occurred alongside Basedow’s include:
So far, the exact causes of Basedow’s disease aren’t fully understood. Based on growing evidence, though, researchers believe it’s a combination of genetics plus a triggering event, such as:
Iodine is an essential ingredient in thyroid hormones, so if you don’t have enough iodine, your body can’t make them.
Iodine’s Role in Thyroid Health
Risk Factors
Factors that increase your risk of developing Basedow’s disease are:
But anyone can develop Basedow’s, including young children and people of any sex.
Diagnosing Basedow’s disease involves the following:
Treatments for Basedow’s disease are aimed at lowering thyroid activity. The primary treatments are:
Anti-Thyroid Medications
Medications can make the thyroid unable to use iodine to make thyroid hormones. Common drugs that can do this include:
Tapazole is the preferred first-line treatment for Basedow’s disease in children and teenagers. Propycil is considered the safest choice early in pregnancy.
Radioactive Iodine
This treatment destroys thyroid tissue to reduce hormone production. You swallow a solution containing radioactive iodine and your thyroid absorbs it like it does most of the iodine in your body. Radiation builds up in the tissue and destroys them.
This is considered a cure for Basedow’s. But it often leads to thyroid hormone levels that are too low, or hypothyroidism, which means you need to takesynthetic thyroid hormoneslike levothyroxine in order to have enough.
The word “radioactive” sounds ominous, but this treatment has been shown to be safe. In the U.S., more than 70% of people with hyperthyroidism get this treatment.This treatment is often called radioiodine to make it sound less scary.
Symptoms of Low Thyroid HormoneHypothyroidism symptoms include:FatigueWeight gainPuffy faceCold intoleranceJoint and muscle painDry skin and hairHair lossDecreased sweatingIrregular menstrual periodsFertility problemsSlow heart rateGoiter
Symptoms of Low Thyroid Hormone
Hypothyroidism symptoms include:FatigueWeight gainPuffy faceCold intoleranceJoint and muscle painDry skin and hairHair lossDecreased sweatingIrregular menstrual periodsFertility problemsSlow heart rateGoiter
Hypothyroidism symptoms include:
Surgery
Surgery for Basedow’s involves removing most or all of your thyroid gland. This is also a cure for hyperthyroidism, but since your body can no longer make thyroid hormones, it causes hypothyroidism.
That means you need to take synthetic thyroid hormones for the rest of your life. Typically, they’re taken in pill form once a day. That gives you and your healthcare provider control over your thyroid levels so you can maintain them in a healthy range.
Summary
What does the thyroid do?
Your thyroid gland produces two hormones: triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4). These hormones are used to regulate your metabolic rate. That determines your body temperature, how fast your heart beats, your blood pressure, how quickly food passes through your digestive tract, the balance of other hormones, and much more.
What triggers Basedow’s disease?
Many things appear to trigger Basedow’s disease, also known as Graves’ disease, in people who are genetically susceptible, including viral or bacterial illness, hormonal changes such as those that occur during puberty, pregnancy, childbirth, or menopause, psychological stress,some medications, and iodine deficiency.Basedow’s disease is ten times more common in women than men.
Is Basedow’s disease curable?
Yes, Basedow’s disease is curable, either through radioactive iodine treatments or surgical removal of part or all of the thyroid. Many people who are cured this way, though, end up with not enough thyroid hormones. It’s common to need thyroid hormone supplements after these types of treatment.
A Word From Verywell
The thyroid gland is critical to keeping your body functioning and healthy. Symptoms can be not only unpleasant but unsettling, as well. The good news is that thyroid disease is relatively easy to diagnose, and several safe and effective treatments are available. You may never be completely free of thyroid medication and occasional symptoms. However, proper treatment can get you back to feeling good and living fully.
By keeping your regular medical appointments and getting blood tests when your healthcare provider recommends them, you can stay on top of your thyroid hormone levels and protect your health.
When Someone Close to You Has Thyroid Disease
5 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.University of Michigan Health, Michigan Medicine.Thyroid hormone production and function.National Organization for Rare Disorders.Graves’ disease.MedlinePlus.Graves disease.National Institutes of Health, National Institutes of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Graves’ disease.American Thyroid Association.Hyperthyroidism (overactive).
5 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.University of Michigan Health, Michigan Medicine.Thyroid hormone production and function.National Organization for Rare Disorders.Graves’ disease.MedlinePlus.Graves disease.National Institutes of Health, National Institutes of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Graves’ disease.American Thyroid Association.Hyperthyroidism (overactive).
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
University of Michigan Health, Michigan Medicine.Thyroid hormone production and function.National Organization for Rare Disorders.Graves’ disease.MedlinePlus.Graves disease.National Institutes of Health, National Institutes of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Graves’ disease.American Thyroid Association.Hyperthyroidism (overactive).
University of Michigan Health, Michigan Medicine.Thyroid hormone production and function.
National Organization for Rare Disorders.Graves’ disease.
MedlinePlus.Graves disease.
National Institutes of Health, National Institutes of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Graves’ disease.
American Thyroid Association.Hyperthyroidism (overactive).
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