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Back to Endocrine Diseases
Hashimoto's Thyroiditis
Autoimmune
hypothyroidism in women
that leads to goitre formation.
Sometimes called Hashimoto's Disease, this is part of the spectrum of
auto-immune diseases and is related to Graves' disease, lymphocytic thyroiditis
as well as other organ related auto-immune conditions such as
Addison's
disease, diabetes, premature menopause and
vitiligo.
Hashimoto's is a lymphocytic
and plasmacytic thyroid inflammation that eventually destroys the
thyroid.
Clinical suspicion
The gland is firm by palpation. Patients
may undergo an initial phase of thyrotoxicosis (Hashitoxicosis) but eventually
are rendered either euthyroid or hypothyroid. Microsomal antibodies indicate
the autoimmune nature of the disease.
Diagnosis
Thyroid autoantibodies are frequently present:
- antithyroid peroxidase antibody
- antithyroglobulin antibody
Thyroid antibodies present
in 95% of patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis make it possible to
diagnose this disease without surgery or biopsy. A
biopsy from the gland
may in some cases be needed to confirm
the diagnosis.
Treatment
Patients require
permanent thyroid replacement. Rarely, surgery may
be needed if the thyroid gland gets too big.
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