The Clinical Effects of Ahnjeonbaekho-tang (AJBHT) on Graves' Disease: A Prospective Clinical Study

Objectives: Graves' disease is the most common cause of hyperthyroidism, and its pathogenesis includes thyroid specific autoimmunity. Anti-thyroid drugs are widely used for regulating the thyroid function. However, in spite of long-term therapy with anti-thyroid drugs, about 40$\sim$$70\%$ of the treated patients have a relapse, and some suffer adverse effects. In this study, to evaluate the clinical efficacy of Ahnjeonbaekho-tang(AJBHT) on Graves' disease patients, we performed the clinical study prospectively. Methods: Through the thyroid function test(TFT) of 54 patients diagnosed as Graves' disease in other hospitals, 21 patients were assigned into the study. After the withdrawal of anti-thyroid drugs, AJBHT was administerd to patients for 2 months. At the same time, TFT, TSH binding inhibiting immunoglobulin(TEII) level and visual analogue scales (VAS) about fatigue and palpitation were measured before and after administration. Thirteen patients have completed the entire follow-up of this study over two months. Results: Serum levels of T3 and FT4 were significantly improved by AJBHT(T3: 298.85$\pm$79.60 ng/dl 181.15$\pm$33.92 ng/dl p<0.0001, FT4: 2.78$\pm$1.06 ng/dl$\rightarrow$1.78$\pm$0.83 ng/dl p<0.05). However, there were no significant changes in TSH and TBII values. And the VAS scores of fatigue and palpitation also were significantly improved(5.80$\pm$3.01$\rightarrow$3.60$\pm$2.63, p<0.05; 6.19$\pm$2.09$\rightarrow$3.60$\pm$2.46, p<0.01). Patients' age was related to the post-treatment FT4 values(p<0.05). Conclusions: From these results, we suggest that AJBHT is effective on the TFT and the symptoms of Graves' disease, and is a safe alternative drug for Graves' disease patients.