[Clinical importance of the estimation of thyrotropin displacing antibodies (author's transl)].

In 69 hyperthyroid patients with diffuse uptake in the scintigram, thyrotropin displacing antibodies (TDA) were measured before, during and after thyrostatic treatment. In a further 42 patients antibody activity was investigated before and 6-12 weeks after radio-iodine treatment, and in 29 patients it was measured before and after subtotal thyroidectomy. Persistence of demonstrable TDA during and after the end of drug treatment was in all cases indicative of recurrence of hyperthyroidism. On the other hand, disappearance of TDA activity was not a guarantee for prolonged remission as five patients had a recurrence despite loss of TDA activity. In a further nine patients hyperthyroidism reappeared with recurrence of TDA after varyingly long periods of remission. Thyrostatic treatment should be performed until disappearance of antibodies. Prolonged demonstration of TDA should lead to surgical intervention. Besides the usefulness in establishing the diagnosis of immunogenic hyperthyroidism (Graves' disease) TDA estimation may be of some prognostic value in the use of thyrostatics. In contrast, after radio-iodine treatment or operation the functioning capacity of the remaining thyroid tissue seems to be more relevant for the success of treatment than the possibly longer acting antibodies.