Endocrine Abstracts

Autoimmune thyroid disease is the common autoimmune disorders. It is more commonly in women. 2% to 4% of women and up to 1% of men are affected worldwide The prevalence increases with advancing age. Detection and quantification of the antibody titers help in establishing an autoimmune etiology.

Objectives: We study the prevalence of thyroid hormone dysfunction especially TSH and positive anti-TPO antibody titers in patients suspect for thyroid-related disorders. Materials and Methods We study about 54 patients. These patients had clinical symptoms and anamnestic elements suspected for disorders of thyroid. The assay for anti-TPO antibodies is an immunoassay based on the principle of electro-chemiluminescence The upper limit of the normal range for anti-TPO is >30 IU/ml. TSH, was estimated by chemiluminescence. The normal range for TSH is O.3–4.5 IU/ml. The results of 54 subjects were analyzed. The rage age was 20–55 years old. Most of them were females 52 patients or 98%. Two of them were males or 2% The total 54 patients: 21 patients had TSH normal and anti TPO high value (38.8%). 16 were euthyroid TSH normal antiTPO normal value. (29.6%) 8 had TSH high and antiTPO normal value (14%), 6 patients had TSH high and antiTPO high value (11.1%) and only 3 were TSH low and antiTPO high value (5.5%).

Conclusion: Autoimmune thyroid diseases occur due to immune-mediated alterations in the thyroid gland. Chronic thyroid dysfunction i.e. hyperthyroidism (Grave’s disease) and hypothyroidism (Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis) occur secondary to the actions of antibodies. Anti-TPO antibodies are the most prevalent and is present in 80–90% of Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, 65–75% of Grave’s disease and 10–20% of nodular goiter or thyroid carcinoma. Even 10–15% of normal individuals can have an elevated antibody titer. In our study we have noticed that the present of antiTPO was high level in 38.8% of euthyroid patients. In our study the majority of euthyroid patients had an elevated anti TPO titer, so we suggested that we could detected the antiTPO even in the patients without thyroid related disorders. This may be due to well-compensated thyroid function at present with a future risk of dysfunction in them. So we concluded the important role of antiTPO titer even in the euthyroid patients. Its important to screen the antiTPO not only in supscted patients with Hashimotos Thyroiditis or Graves disease, but to screen even in normal individual. This importance of screening is compounded by the fact that anti-thyroid antibodies may be positive in a significant percentage of normal people.