Relapse of Graves' disease after subacute thyroiditis.

We report the case of a 46-year-old man whose Graves' disease relapsed 5 years after its first appearance. At the time of relapse thyrotropin (TSH) receptor antibodies were very high, as was radioactive uptake in the left lobe of the thyroid. After thyroidectomy, histological analysis of the specimen showed evidence of treated Graves' disease, and there were signs of subacute thyroiditis in the right lobe. The clinical and immunologic characteristics of this observation are discussed as well as the hypothesis explaining the succession of an inflammatory and autoimmune thyroid disease.