TSH-receptor antibodies determined by the first, second and third generation assays and thyroid-stimulating antibody in pregnant patients with Graves' disease.

The measurement of TSH receptor antibody (TRAb) has been recommended to predict the risk of neonatal hyperthyroidism (NH) in pregnant women with Graves' disease (GD). For the first generation TRAb (TRAb1) assay with commercial kit (Brahms, Berlin, Germany; or Cosmic co., Tokyo, Japan) an arbitrary limit of 40 U/l or 50% was suggested to indicate risk when measured late in pregnancy. In order to substitute TRAb1 with the second generation TRAb using porcine TSH receptor (pTRAb2) and human recombinant TSH receptor (hTRAb2) and the third generation TRAb (TRAb3) assay for this purpose, we measured TRAb in these four methods late in pregnancy in a total of 62 pregnant women with Graves' disease. The data showed that no cases with TRAb1 >50% has been missed if the TRAb1 assay was replaced by the pTRAb2, hTRAb2 or TRAb3 assay using their equivalent cut-off value of 70%, 10 IU/l, and 75%, respectively, but that an additional group of women would have been included in the risk group, especially in the TRAb3 assay. Next, the effect of maternal TRAb on thyroid function of offspring was studied in the 47 pregnant women with GD (43 with TRAb1 <50% and 4 with TRAb1 >50% during late pregnancy). In 2 women who gave birth to hyperthyroid children at days 6 and 14 of life, the maternal sera had strongly positive levels of TRAb1 (73.5% and 84.1%), pTRAb2 (84.9% and 91.5%), hTRAb2 (40.68 IU/L and 89.70 IU/L) and TRAb3 (92.1% and 93.5%) late in pregnancy, with one case displaying high positive (1114.3%) thyroid stimulating antibody (TSAb) level and the other case had moderate positive (433%) TSAb level. Of the remaining 45 women, 43 had TRAb1 <50% and the other 2 had TRAb >50% including 1 with low TSAb positive and 1 with positive thyroid stimulating blocking antibody (TSBAb) and negative TSAb; all of them gave birth to euthyroid children. Finally, a serial study regarding TRAb in 23 women with Graves' disease during pregnancy showed that TRAb1, pTRAb2, hTRAb2, TRAb3 value and TSAb level decreased significantly as pregnancy progressed. In conclusion, the present study supported TRAb as a useful marker to predict the risk of NH.