Endocrine Abstracts

Objectives: To investigate how the immune associations (IA) may have significance for diagnosis or therapy in thyroiditis.

Material and method: i) Patients: A. ‘Classical’ Hashimoto thyroiditis (hyper-ATPO-emia, HT)=1196, B. thyroiditis with isolated hyper-ATG-emia, with normal ATPO (T-ATG)=73, C. thyroiditis ‘sero-negative’ (normal ATPO and ATG, pathology diagnosis)=8, D. idiopathic myxedema (hypothyroidism, no A,B,C)=69; E. control=1130. ii) Statistical analysis: χ² test.

Results: i) Total IA: HT=220 (18.39%, P<<0.001); T-ATG=20 (27.4%, P<<0.001); ‘sero-negative’=1 (12.5%, NS); idiopathic mixedema=9 (13.04%, NS); control: 107 (9.47%). ii) Main IA: A. Graves-Basedow disease: TH: 155 (12.96%), T-TAG: 5 (6.85%); B. Vitiligo: HT=36, P=0.0001; T-ATG=2; Control=10. C. Dermatitis: HT=26, P<0.001. D. Immune ovaritis with precocious menopause: HT=16, P=0.004. E. Biermer anemia: HT=13; P<0.001. F. Drug allergy: HT: 24, P<0.001. G. Rheumatoid arthritis: HT=8, but in controls=19 (NS). H. Thrombophilia: HT=7, Control=1 (P=0.04), I. Repetitive zona zoster: HT=7, Control=1 (P=0.04); Otosclerosis: HT=7, Control=2 (P=13). iii) Multiple associations- very frequent (no=100); exemples: Cerebral vasculitis with Sneddon sd, pulmonary fibrosis, cryoglobulinemia, virus C hepatitis (IFN), sicca sd; Sarcoidosis with drug allergy, scleroderma, adenomegaly, arthritis; Asthma with postpartum trombophilia and antiphospholipidic sd; Selective alopecia areata (no eyebrows), ferriprive anemia, miopia; Sharp disease, zona zoster, dispepsia, alopecia areata, trombocytosis.

Conclusions: i) HT and T-ATG has immune associations with increased frequency. ii) The most significant and prevalent association are: Graves-Basedow, vitiligo, Biermer anaemia, drug allergy, early menopause with immune ovaritis, thrombophilia. iii) HT, T-ATG and idiopathic mixedema are not significantly associated with other immune conditions: rheumatoid arthritis, IDDM, B/C hepatitis. iv) Multiple immune associations are common.