Graves’ Disease In Patient With Down’s Syndrome – Not So Uncommon

Abstract

Down’s syndrome (DS) is one of the most common chromosomal disorders (one in 800 births) and the most common cause of mental retardation. It is well known that patients with Down’s syndrome have an increased prevalence of autoimmune disorders, affecting both endocrine and non-endocrine organs. The most common autoimmune disease in Down’s syndrome is related to the thyroid gland. Hyperthyroidism is also found at a higher-than-average rate in patients with DS, although only isolated cases have been reported. We here report a case of a 10-year-old female child showing a rare association between Graves’ and Down’s syndrome. The child had symptoms of anxiety, weight loss and swelling in neck. The symptoms gradually improved with methamizole.