Endo-ERN webinar: For a prolonged use of antithyroid drug in children with Graves’disease

On Thursday September 29th at 17:00 – 18:00 CET an Endo-ERN webinar about “For a prolonged use of antithyroid drug in children with Graves’disease” will be given by Juliane Leger from Hôpital Universitaire Robert Debré, France and Edward Visser from Erasmus MC: University Medical Center Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Graves’ disease is much rarer in children than in adults. It may occur at any age during childhood but its frequency increases with age, peaking in adolescence. There is no specific cure for the disease. Antithyroid drugs (ATD) are the first-line treatment but they are used for various lengths of time. Alternative treatments such as radioiodine or total thyroidectomy are considered in cases of relapse, lack of compliance or severe ATD toxicity. The best way to manage these patients remain a matter of debate. The remission rate after 2 years of ATD treatment doesn’t exceed 30%. Recent studies have shown more favorable results with long term use of ATD.