Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT), the most frequent autoimmune thyroid disorders (AITDs), is the leading cause of hypothyroidism in the iodine-sufficient areas of the world. About 20-30% of patients suffers from HT, whose cause is thought to be a combination of genetic susceptibility and environmental factors that causes the loss of immunological tolerance, with a consequent autoimmune attack to the thyroid tissue and appearance of the disease. The pathologic features of lymphocytic infiltration, especially of T cells, and follicular destruction are the histological hallmark of autoimmune thyroiditis (AIT), that lead to gradual atrophy and fibrosis. An important role in the immune-pathogenesis of AITDs is due to chemokines and cytokines. In about 20% of patients, AITDs are associated with other organ specific/systemic autoimmune disorders. Many studies have demonstrated the relationship between papillary thyroid cancer and AITD. The treatment of hypothyroidism, as result of AIT, consists in daily assumption of synthetic levothyroxine.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 101367 |
| Pages (from-to) | 101367 |
| Journal | Best Practice and Research in Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism |
| Volume | 33 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| Early online date | Nov 2019 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2019 |
ID: 49837228