The Change And Clincal Significance Of Soluble Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 (sICAM-1) In Sera Of Patients With Graves' Disease

Objective To evaluate sICAM-1 serum levels in patients at different clinicalstages of Graves' disease (GD) and healthy individuals. To observe its alteration trend, and to investigate its clinical significance.Methods 40 untreated GD patients, 40 recurrent GD patients, 40 patientsgiven maintaining dosage of medicine (methimazole, MMI) and 40 healthy individals (as a control group) were investigated. Their serum sICAM-1 levels were measured with ELISA, as well the serum levels of T₃, T₄, thyrotropin receptor antibody (TRAb). Thyroid stimulating immunoglobulin (TSI) were measured.Results. The serum sICAM-1 concentrations in untreated GD. recurrent GD.MMI controlled GD patients and healthy individuals group (x±s) resectively were 223.44±41.11μg/l, 240.06±36.17μg/l, 115.16±28.82μg/l and 134.03±28.19μg/l.The levels in recurrent GD patients were higher than that in untreated GD patients and they were also significantly higher than those in the controlled-MMI patients and control group (P<0.01). The sICAM-1 concentration in untreated GD was significantly higher than those in MMI controlled GD and control subjects (p<0.05). Compared with the controls, the level of sICAM-1 in patients who were treated with MMI and had been remitented more than 24 months was improved (p<0.05). There was no statistical correlation between sICAM-1 and T₃, T₄, TRAb, TSI in different GD groups.Conclusions The sICAM-1 assay is of great importance in detecting theabnormal immune status in GD patients and can help to diagnose them. It might play an important role in observing the developing, predicting the replase, determing the period of MMI treatment and the discontinuance of therapy of GD;The level of sICAM-1 in the patients treated with maintaining dosage of MMI declined and wasgradually lower than the control groups, which indicated that MMI could restrain the immunity. The patients whose sICAM-1 couldn't declined significantly during the treatment could choose radiotherapy. So it could provide valuble objective parameters for 131I therapy, or surgical treatment. The sICAM-1 could be seen as prognostic in dex in the replase and follow-up of GD. It can be widely used in clinics.