The Long-Acting Thyroid Stimulator

Abstract

It is sixteen years since Adams and Purves (1956) first reported the detection of the long-acting thyroid stimulator (LATS) in the serum of patients with thyrotoxicosis. This discovery provoked a controversy about the significance of LATS in the pathogenesis of Graves' disease, which still continues. Because LATS activity can be recovered with yG-immunoglobulin (McKenzie, 1962;Adams and Kennedy, 1962;Meek et al., 1964;Kriss et al., 1964) and absorbed by thyroid subcellular particles or extracts (Kriss et al., 1964;Beall and Solomon, 1966;Dorrington et al., 1966a) it has been suggested that LATS may be a member of the group of autoantibodies to various thyroid components which have been recognised in disturbances of human thyroid function (Doniach and Roitt, 1957) including thyrotoxicosis. It must be acknowledged that the hypothesis that LATS-yG is a thyroid autoantibody with thyroid stimulating properties has no precedent in the pathogenesis of other autoimmune diseases. For detailed discussion of the scientific background to this subject the reader may consult several recent reviews (Dorrington and

Radioactive iodine therapy for thyrotoxicosis

“…Serial serum long-acting thyroid stimulator titres and serum anti-thyroglobulin antibody titres showed a rise in those whose eye signs deteriorated following this therapy. Others, however, have not found this (Munro, 1971). Kriss (1970,1971) believes that energetic 1311 therapy does tend to lead to a deterioration in the ophthalmopathy when it is significant at the start of treatment.…”