INTRODUCTION: Both Lymphocytes and platelets play an important role in the pathogenesis of Graves' disease, a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease. The mean platelet volume (MPV), which is considered as an indirect indicator of platelet function, may be increased as an inflammatory marker in Graves' disease. In our study, we evaluated MPV and NLR (neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio) values before and after treatment in patients with Graves' disease and toxic nodular goiter. The aim of this study is to prove that the autoimmune, chronic inflammatory pathogenesis of Graves' disease can be demonstrated by evaluating the whole blood count parameters
METHODS: A total of 75 patients of which 41 were diagnosed as Graves' disease and 34 were diagnosed as toxic nodular goiter (toxic adenoma or toxic multinodular goiter) were included in the study. Complete blood count parameters were evaluated in both groups before treatment and after treatment when euthyroidism was achieved.
RESULTS: In Graves' disease (GD) group, pretreatment MPV values were significantly higher than toxic nodular goiter (TNG) group (p: 0.021). There was a statistically significant decrease in NLR in GD group compared to TNG group after treatment (p: 0,025). Although there was no statistically significant difference, lymphocyte count was higher in GD group compared to TNG group before treatment. The monocyte count was significantly higher in the GD group compared to the TNG group before treatment (p: 0.006). There was no correlation between MPV and free T3, free T4, TSH values before and after treatment in GD group.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: These results suggest that autoimmunity and inflammation in GD are reflected in whole blood count parameters and that MPV elevation in GD is related to autoimmunity rather than the metabolic effect of thyroid hormones