Molecular Mechanisms of Graves' Ophthalmopathy. A focus on smoking and radioiodine.
Graves’ disease (GD) is an autoimmune disease characterized by hyperthyroidism and is caused by an interplayof genetic and environmental factors. One-third of patients with GD develop Graves’ ophthalmopathy (GO). Keyprocesses in the pathogenesis of GO are inflammation and adipogenesis in orbital tissue. Strong risk factorsassociated with the development of GO are smoking and radioiodine treatment