Graves' disease overview

Graves' disease Microchapters
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

Overview

Graves disease is a thyroid disorder characterized by goiter, exophthalmos, "orange-peel" skin, and hyperthyroidism. It is caused by an antibody-mediated auto-immune reaction, but the trigger for this reaction is still unknown. It is the most common cause of hyperthyroidism in the world, and the most common cause of general thyroid enlargement in developed countries.

In some parts of Europe the term Basedow’s disease or Graves-Basedow disease is preferred to Graves' disease.