Summary
38 patients with Graves' disease were treated at random with the glucocorticosteroid
betamethasone or with placebo. The daily oral dose was 6.0 mg for the first 5 days,
4.5 mg for the following week, and then 3.0 mg. The serum free triiodo-thyronine (FT3)
concentration decreased within 5 days, while the free thyroxine (FT4) level was reduced
first after 3 weeks of betamethasone treatment. The suppressed serum thyrotropin concentration
did not change. In the placebo group no significant constant alterations were found
in any of the variables studied.
The results corroborate that betamethasone decreases FT3 and to a less degree also
FT4, which earlier has been indicated by indirect methods, although the mechanisms
behind the changes remain to be clarified. Since FT3 is more readily available for
the metabolic effects in tissues the rapid striking fall in its concentration is an
argument for glucocorticoid treatment in selected patients with severe hyperthyroidism
of Graves' disease.
Key-Words
Graves' Disease
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Hyperthyroidism
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Free T4
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Free T3
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Cortisone
