Cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA-4) gene polymorphism confers susceptibility to thyroid associated orbitopathy.

ABSTRACT

Smoking and demographic variables are known to be risk factors for the development of thyroid-associated orbitopathy (TAO) among patients with Graves' hyperthyroidism, but a firm genetic basis for TAO has not been established. We show that the presence and severity of TAO are associated with an allele of the cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen-4-gene.