Optimum duration of antithyroid drug treatment determined by assay of thyroid stimulating antibody in patients with Graves' disease.

Objective: To determine the optimal duration of antithyroid drug treatment by monitoring serum thyroid stimulating antibody values in patients with Graves' disease.

Design: Prospective longitudinal trial of patients with Graves' disease followed up for 24 months after withdrawal of treatment.

Setting: Tertiary referral centre.

[Value of the urinary albumin/creatinine ratio in the detection of microalbuminuria].

Microalbuminuria is currently defined as a urinary albumin excretion rate of 20 to 200 micrograms per minute, measured in the urine of 24 hours. We present an indirect approach to the urinary albumin daily excretion rate which minimizes the errors due to chronometric measurement and to the difficulty of collecting 24-hour urine. The albumin (mg/l)/creatinine (mmol/l) ratio calculated in urine collected daily indicates microalbuminuria when it is higher than 2.

[Comparison of 2 methods of measuring microalbuminuria. Immunonephelometry and radioimmunology].

The early detection of microalbuminuria in insulin dependent diabetes is considered as a sign of initial stage of nephropathy (possibly reversible if glycemic balance is well maintained). This detection requires very accurate methods as radioimmunoassays. Yet, they are so slow that they represent an obstacle to systematic detection.