Autoimmune Diseases Thyroid

Thyroid Diseases

Overview of Thyroid Diseases

It is common for people to develop thyroid diseases, such as hyperthyroidism (hyper means "too much") and hypothyroidism (hypo means "too little.) The two main types of autoimmune thyroid disease fall into hyperthyroidism (Grave's disease), and hypothyroidism (Hashimoto's thyroiditis).

Often thyroid disease occurs by itself. Occasionally it is also associated with other autoimmune diseases, such as type 1 diabetes, systemic scleroderma, and vitiligo, just to name a few. (Also see Autoimmune Diseases)

Thyroid Disease. Dermatological manifestations as a sign of thyroid disturbances occur either in thyreotoxic states or in the evolution of autoimmune diseases of the thyroid that is in apparent euthyroidism, or in overt hypothyroidism. (Springerlink) Alfredo Rebora. Clinical and Pathological Aspects of Skin Diseases in Endocrine, Metabolic, Nutritional and Deposition Disease.

What is Hypothyroidism? Early and late symptoms, risk factors, diagnosis and treatment. Armour Thyroid.

Thyroid Disease and Scleroderma

It is common for people with systemic scleroderma to also have other health problems, and thyroid disease can often be associated with it.

However, thyroid disease is very common in the general population, whereas systemic scleroderma is very rare, and thyroid disease is not considered to be a symptom of any type of scleroderma.

High Prevalence of Antithyroid Antibodies (ATAs) in a New Zealand Cohort of Patients With Systemic Sclerosis (SSc). There is a higher prevalence of ATAs in SSc and Ssc– overlap syndrome compared with the general population and screening these patients for ATAs is a reasonable measure. PubMed, J Clin Rheumatol, 2018 Aug;24(5):264-271. (Also see Antibodies)

Increased risk of papillary thyroid cancer (TC) in systemic sclerosis associated with autoimmune thyroiditis. Patients with SSc have an increased risk of malignancy compared with the general population and these data suggest a high prevalence of papillary TC, in particular in the presence of thyroid autoimmunity. PubMed, Rheumatology (Oxford). (Also see Cancer and Scleroderma)

Thyroid Disease in Correlation with Other Diseases

Rheumatic associations of autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD): a systematic review. The rheumatic associations of AITD may manifest specific patterns of disease distinct from those of other well-defined autoimmune syndromes and contribute significantly to disease burden. PubMed, Clin Rheumatol, 2019 Jul;38(7):1801-1809. (Also see Fibromyalgia)

Increased Risk of Thyroid Dysfunction Among Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). Our study provides strong evidence for the increased risk of thyroid dysfunction among RA patients. PubMed, Front Endocrinol (Lausanne), 2019 Jan 11;9:799. (Also see Rheumatoid Arthritis in Overlap)

Rheumatic Disease Autoantibodies in Patients with Autoimmune Thyroid Diseases (ATD). We found rheumatic autoantibodies in 17.5% of ATD patients without rheumatic diseases and there was no clinical rheumatic disorder during the period of five years. PubMed, Med Princ Pract, 06/04/2018. (Also see Systemic Autoimmune Rheumatic Diseases)

Hypothyroidism in patients with autoimmune pancreatitis. Further studies are necessary to clarify whether this subclinical hypothyroidism is another manifestation of IgG4-RD. PubMed, World J Gastrointest Pharmacol Ther, 2018 May 6;9(2):16-21. (Also see Autoimmune Pancreatitis)

Associated autoimmune diseases in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). Children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes are at increased risk for developing other autoimmune diseases, most commonly autoimmune thyroiditis and celiac disease. PubMed, Autoimmun Rev. (Also see Diagnosis of Diabetes and Celiac Disease)

Graves' Disease or Hyperthyroidism

Grave's Disease. Graves' disease is the most common form of hyperthyroidism, occurring when your immune system mistakenly attacks your thyroid gland and causes it to overproduce the hormone thyroxine. Mayo Clinic.

Hashimoto's Thyroiditis or Hypothyroidism

Hashimoto's Thyroiditis.Hashimoto's thyroiditis is an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation of the thyroid gland, causing hypothyroidism (a depletion of thyroid hormone.) It is diagnosed by blood tests for thyroid antibodies, and treated with thyroid replacement medications. ISN.

Thyroid Research Articles

Autoimmune

Joint damage is amplified in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients with positive thyroid autoantibodies (TAbs). Our data showed that joint destruction was amplified in RA patients with an elevated presence of TAbs, which supports the importance and necessity of TAbs and thyroid function screening and monitoring in RA patient management in clinical practice. PubMed, PeerJ, 2018 Jan 4;6:e4216. (Also see Rheumatoid Arthritis in Overlap)

Diagnosis

Investigation of Acoustic Structure Quantification (ASQ) in the Diagnosis of Thyroiditis. ASQ can provide objective and quantitative analysis of thyroid echogenicity and ASQ parameters were successful in distinguishing between patients with thyroiditis and individuals without thyroiditis. PubMed, AJR Am J Roentgenol.

Dietary Considerations

Iodine excess (IE) exposure during pregnancy and lactation impairs maternal thyroid function in rats. Our study indicates that the exposure to IE during pregnancy and lactation induces primary hypothyroidism in rat dams and impairs iodide transfer to the milk. PubMed, Endocr Connect, 2017 Oct;6(7):510-521.

Gastrointestinal

Thyroid disorders and gastrointestinal and liver dysfunction: A state of the art review. In this review, we discuss disorders of the thyroid-gut axis and identify the evidence base behind the management of such disorders. PubMed, Eur J Intern Med. (Also see Gastrointestinal Involvement and Liver Involvement)

Genetics

Congenital Hypothyroidism. Careful evaluation will usually reveal the etiology of congenital hypothyroidism, which may inform treatment and prognosis. PubMed, Clin Perinatol, 2018 Mar;45(1):1-18.

Interferon-induced Thyroid Disorders

Frequency of Thyroid Dysfunctions during Interferon Alpha Treatment (IFN) of Single and Combination Therapy in Hepatitis C Virus-Infected (HCV) Patients: A Systematic Review Based Analysis. The role of each factor in causing thyroid dysfunctions in HCV patients treated with IFN should be analyzed in detail for a better understanding of the problem and sounder clinical management of the disease. PLOS One.

Lungs (Pulmonary)

Identification of thyroxine-binding globulin (THBG) as a candidate plasma marker of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In summary, THBG is a potential plasma biomarker of COPD and can assist in the management of stable stage and acute exacerbation in COPD patients. PubMed, Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis, 2017 May 25;12:1549-1564.

Musculoskeletal Involvement

Case Report: Myopathy in hyperthyroidism as a consequence of rapid reduction of thyroid hormone. Differentiation of relative hypothyroidism from other causes of myopathy is important for clinical practice, although difficult in many cases. PubMed, Medicine (Baltimore). (Also see Myopathy and Myositis)

Pregnancy and Postpartum Thyroiditis (PPT)

Thyroid disorders in pregnancy and postpartum. Thyroid dysfunction during pregnancy and the postpartum period is a common obstetric problem primarily managed by general practitioners. PMC, Aust Prescr, 2017 Dec; 40(6): 214–219.

Radiotherapy-induced Thyroid Disorders

Radiation-induced thyroid cancer. Radiation exposure of the thyroid during childhood is the most clearly defined environmental factor associated with benign and malignant thyroid tumors. UpToDate.

Stress and Thyroid Autoimmunity

Stress and thyroid autoimmunity. Stress affects the immune system either directly or indirectly through the nervous and endocrine systems. These immune modulations may contribute to the development of autoimmunity as well as the susceptibility to autoimmune disease in genetically predisposed individuals. Stress can be one of the environmental factors for thyroid autoimmunity. PubMed, Thyroid.

Thyroid Education and Support

Five Reasons You Can't Get Your Thyroid Problem Diagnosed. Many thyroid patients write to ask why it can be so incredibly hard to get diagnosed. A few things to think about. VeryWell.

How Armour^® Thyroid Differs From Synthetic Thyroid Hormone Replacements. Armour Thyroid.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia. ISN.

SCLERO.ORG was the world's leading nonprofit for trustworthy research, support, education and awareness for scleroderma and related illnesses from 1998 to 2021. It was a grassroots movement from the original Scleroderma from A to Z web site, which was founded by Shelley Ensz. We were a 501(c)(3) U.S.-based public charitable foundation. We closed this web site and our nonprofit agency in April 2021.