[Antibodies to glutamic acid decarboxylase in patients with Graves disease].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the level and clinical implication of antibodies to glutamic acid in patients with Graves disease. METHODS: ELISA and RIA were used to determine the decarboxylase (GADAb) levels of GADAb, thyroglobulin antibodies (TGAb), thyroidperoxidase antibodies(TPOAb), free triiodothyronine (FT3) and free thyroxine (FT4) before and after treatment in the patients with Graves disease not yet complicated by diabetes mellitus and in the healthy volunteers as controls. Then the relations of GADAb to FT3, FT4, TGAb and TPOAb were detected. RESULTS: The correlation coefficients between GADAb and FT3, FT4 were--0.367 (P > 0.05) and 0.029 (P > 0.05), respectively. The correlation coefficients between GADAb and titers of TGAb, TPOAb were 0.320 (P > 0.05) and 0.394 (P > 0.05), respectively. The levels of GADAb, TGAb, TPOAb, and the ratio of patients with positive GADAb were reduced in the treated patients with Graves disease, but no significant difference was observed between the treated and untreated patients. CONCLUSION: The above data indicated that GADAb was related to Graves disease, but no relation was seen between GADAb and thyroid