Graves' hyperthyroidism. Spontaneous occurrence after autoimmune hypothyroidism with persistent infiltrative ophthalmopathy.

The clinical course of a 39-year-old woman who exhibited uncommon features of autoimmune thyroid disease was followed. The patient's thyroid status changed from hypothyroid to hyperthyroid spontaneously. She also had severe infiltrative ophthalmopathy when she was hypothyroid. The unusual sequence of her condition raises some speculation about the pathogenesis of autoimmune hyperthyroidism and ophthalmopathy. The study also indicates that treatment of hypothyroidism may occasionally not be lifelong.