Postpartum thyroid dysfunction.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to U Feldt-Rasmussen.
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The influence of beta-adrenoceptor antagonists on serum TSH level (supersensitive method) and thyroid volume has not previously been studied. Thirty-two young non-smoking males were treated for 3 weeks with either atenolol 50 mg (b.i.d.), metoprolol 100 mg (b.i.d.) or propranolol 80 mg (b.i.d.) in a placebo controlled study. After 1 week, median serum TSH level increased in the atenolol (from 1.76 (range: 0.96-4.04) to 2.25 (range: 1.11-4.22) mU/l, P less than 0.05) and propranolol (from 1.91 (range: 0.90-3.83) to 2.44 (range: 0.75-6.30) mU/l, P less than 0.05) treated groups. After 3 weeks, median serum TSH reached pretreatment level in the atenolol treated, whereas median serum TSH decreased compared to pretreatment values in the propranolol treated (1.68 (range: 0.68-3.62) mU/l, P less than 0.05). Except for a slight increase in the atenolol treated group, no changes in median thyroid volume was seen after 3 weeks. The changes in serum TSH or thyroid volume were not related to changes in the concentrations of thyroid hormones, or of a magnitude likely to interfere with the clinical evaluation of thyroid function.
OBJECTIVE: It has been postulated that a decrease in thyroid size can be achieved by thyroxine treatment in patients with goitrous Hashimoto's thyroiditis but no objective data are available. We have therefore investigated the influence of thyroxine treatment on ultrasonically determined thyroid size. We also measured serum antithyroid peroxidase antibodies. DESIGN: Consecutive patients with goitrous Hashimoto's thyroiditis was studied. PATIENTS: Thirteen women participated; all had goitrous thyroiditis. TREATMENT: To render them euthyroid thyroxine was given for 24 months. MEASUREMENTS: Thyroid size was measured ultrasonically and antithyroid peroxidase antibodies were measured using a commercial radioimmunological method. RESULT: Concomitant with the gradual increase in serum free thyroxine and free triiodothyronine index values and a fall in serum thyrotrophin level, a gradual decrease in thyroid volume from 50.4 +/- 6.8 ml (mean +/- SEM) to 34.1 +/- 5.7 ml (32%), P less than 0.001 was demonstrated. Antithyroid peroxidase antibodies were present in high concentrations in all subjects but the mean serum level was not significantly changed at 24 months after initiation of treatment. CONCLUSION: A clinically significant reduction in thyroid volume related to normalization of thyroid function but unrelated to changes in antithyroid peroxidase antibody can be achieved during L-thyroxine treatment of hypothyroid goitrous Hashimoto's thyroiditis.
The thyroid function tests as well as evidence of thyroiditis were studied in 18 male patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and 12 healthy HIV1-positive persons compared with an age-matched control group. Serum total thyroxine was not significantly different between the groups, but both serum total triiodothyronine, triiodothyronine uptake test, and free thyroid hormone indices showed significantly decreasing values from HIV1-positive healthy persons to AIDS patients compared with controls (P value from less than 0.05 to less 0.001). Serum TBG was elevated in HIV1-positive subjects and in patients with AIDS, with a significant inverse correlation with the T3-uptake test (Spearman's rho = 0.657, P less than 0.01). There was no correlation between thyroxine binding globulin and the other measured variables. The serum level of thyrotropine was not significantly different in the groups, whereas serum thyroglobulin was significantly lowered in the AIDS group. There was no correlation between thyroid function variables and survival time, hepatic function and ratio of T-helper to T-suppressor cells. No evidence of thyroiditis was observed. In conclusion thyroid tests showed an atypical outcome in HIV1-positive patients with or without AIDS compared with the pattern normally seen in non-thyroid illness, and should, therefore, caution the interpretation of the biochemical changes when diagnosing abnormal thyroid function in these patients.
Insulin-dependent diabetes is associated with other autoimmune diseases and subclinical hypothyroidism has been reported in pregnant diabetic women. We studied the thyroid function of 85 women with diabetes during pregnancy and after delivery, as well as various autoantibodies. During pregnancy, thyroid microsomal antibodies were present in 17/85, antibodies against thyroid peroxidase in 16/85, thyroglobulin antibodies in 2/85, parietal cell antibodies in 23/85, adrenal antibodies in 4/77, rheumatoid factor in 15/85, and thyroid-stimulating antibodies in 43/85. Presence of antibodies was not combined with thyroid dysfunction, but TSH and HbA1c was increased (p less than 0.005) in women with thyroid antibodies. The gestational age of the infants was lower (p less than 0.01) in women with positive thyroid-stimulating antibody titre, whereas the ponderal index was only lower in those with peroxidase antibodies (p less than 0.05). After delivery, microsomal and peroxidase antibodies were positive in 10 (17.5%) of 57 patients followed. Six women developed postpartum thyroiditis (10.5%), of whom 5 were positive for both microsomal and peroxidase antibodies; two of those showing a hyperthyroid phase also had positive thyroid-stimulating antibody titre. We conclude that autoantibodies occur with increased incidence in pregnant diabetic women. Thyroid antibodies are related to a slightly reduced thyroid capacity and involve a high risk of postpartum thyroiditis. Further, thyroid antibodies seem to influence the nutritional status of the infant.
Interleukin 6 has been suggested as second mediator of the effects of interleukin 1 in some cell systems. Interleukin 1 has previously been shown to inhibit the function of human thyrocytes in secondary cultures. We have therefore studied the influence of interleukin 6 (10(-1)-5.10(7) U/l) on the function of thyroid cells. Recombinant interleukin 6 slightly inhibited the production of cAMP, but failed to influence the production of thyroglobulin or the DNA content. Endotoxins (lipopolysaccharides from Salmonella abortus equi or Yersinia enterocolitica) had only a slightly inhibitory effect on thyroid cell functions, and the effect of interleukin 6 could not by itself be explained by endotoxin contamination. The effect of interleukin 6 did not mimic effects on thyroid cells afforded by recombinant interleukin 1 alpha and 1 beta. Furthermore, antibodies to interleukin 6 were not able to inhibit the interleukin 1 beta-induced inhibition of thyroid cell functions. In conclusion, it is unlikely that interleukin 6 by itself mediates the biological effects of interleukin 1 on human thyroid cells.
An immediate reduction of thyroglobulin autoantibodies during subtotal thyroidectomy of thyroglobulin antibody positive patients has previously been shown to indicate an acute release of thyroglobulin into the circulation peroperatively. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether thyroid peroxidase was also released by measuring anti-thyroid peroxidase antibodies by a quantitative and antigen specific method both pre- and postoperatively in patients positive for anti-thyroid peroxidase antibodies. Twelve anti-thyroid peroxidase positive patients (11 females, 1 male) referred for surgery of toxic goitre were studied. Median age was 43 years (range 24-64) and median goitre size 86 g (25-165). All patients had been pretreated with antithyroid drugs and were euthyroid at the time of operation. Anti-thyroid peroxidase was measured before operation, 1-8 h, 10 days, 1-3 months, and 12 months postoperatively by a commercial method (DYNO-test, Henning, Berlin). The median anti-thyroid peroxidase level before operation was 1048 kU/l (range 68-10 517 kU/l) and fell during operation to 0.63 (range 0.37-1.28) (p less than 0.01) of initial concentration without further decrease during the next 1-8 h. The comparative decrease in thyroglobulin antibodies was 0.19 (0-0.88). The anti-thyroid peroxidase level was increasing after 10 days, but did not reach initial level until between 3 and 12 months after surgery. However, in 3 of 10 patients anti-thyroid peroxidase had disappeared after 12 months, all of whom had low levels before operation, whereas anti-thyroid peroxidase was 2-4 times higher than preoperatively in 3 other patients.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Thirty-five pregnant women with thyroid antibodies were followed during pregnancy and 12 month post partum. Twenty antibody-negative women served as controls and none of these developed postpartum thyroiditis in contrast to 12 of 35 antibody-positive women. Umbilical cord blood was collected at birth for measurements of thyroid antibodies, and blood samples for measurements of thyroid hormones were obtained at 5 and 30 days of age in the infants together with a clinical examination. There were no differences between the infants of antibody-positive and -negative mothers or the infants of those who developed postpartum thyroiditis with regard to gestational age at birth, birth weight, birth length or Apgar score, and no difference in thyroid function of the mothers and infants. However, serum TSH level was significantly higher in mothers who subsequently developed postpartum thyroiditis. Furthermore, a significantly lower growth during the first 30 days of life was observed in their infants. Our observations suggest a relationship between the maternal thyroid status in pregnancy and early growth in infancy.
A new commercial method for measurement of anti-thyroid peroxidase (anti-TPO DYNOtest, Henning, Berlin) was evaluated in normal subjects and in patients with autoimmune thyroid and non-thyroid diseases, and compared to an immune fluorescence method for measurement of anti-microsomal antibodies (MicAb), and a radioimmunological method for quantifying thyroglobulin antibodies (TgAb). The majority of normal subjects had anti-TPO levels below 52 U/ml and patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis had levels above 200 U/ml, with a good correlation to MicAb. In other autoimmune thyroid diseases the correlation was less pronounced. In non-thyroid autoimmune diseases MicAb showed falsely positive reactions in the presence of other autoantibodies, e.g. mitochondrial antibodies. The present study indicates that the anti-TPO method should probably replace measurements of MicAb for routine clinical use, thus providing a sensitive, precise, antigen specific method with the ability to reveal quantitative fluctuations. The study also indicates that TgAb could be abolished in routine diagnosis of autoimmune thyroid diseases and be reserved for special clinical situations, research purposes as well as measurement in sera before evaluation of serum thyroglobulin levels.
The effects of human recombinant interleukin 1 alpha (20 pg/1-2 micrograms/l) and 1 beta (200 pg/1-20 micrograms/l) on two systems of thyroid cells have been compared. The thyroglobulin and cAMP secretion and the DNA content of human thyroid cells cultured in monolayer and of continuously grown rat thyroid cells, Fischer rat thyroid cell line have been studied. The growth of the rat thyroid cell line was inhibited by interleukin 1 beta (20 ng/1-20 micrograms/l), but not by interleukin 1 alpha. None of the cytokines changed the cAMP production of the rat thyroid cells. In contrast, both cAMP production and thyroglobulin secretion were inhibited dose-dependently by the cytokines in human thyroid cells in secondary cultures. These results caution the interpretation and extrapolation of changes induced by interleukin 1 from one cell system to the other.
In a study of postpartum thyroiditis, thyroid function and ultrasonically determined thyroid size were evaluated in 36 thyroid autoantibody positive healthy women during pregnancy and the first postpartum year. Twelve women (33%) developed postpartum thyroiditis with permanent thyroid dysfunction in three. However, only one woman had symptoms and needed treatment. The most common type of thyroid dysfunction was a transient hyperthyroid phase as seen in 7 women. A significant increase by 20-30% in mean thyroid volume during pregnancy was demonstrated independent of development of postpartum thyroiditis. We conclude that initial thyroid volume or changes during pregnancy and post partum are not useful indicators of the development of postpartum thyroiditis. The fact that the condition is oligosymptomatic suggests that screening procedures are necessary if one wants to diagnose the earliest phases of postpartum thyroiditis.
The frequency of autoantibodies to thyroid microsomes (MAb), thyroid peroxidase (TPOAb) and thyroglobulin (TgAb) was studied in 736 women during and after pregnancy. The aim was to study the relationship between TPO Ab and post-partum thyroid disease, and to compare their behaviour with MAb. Seventy-five (10%) were either MAb or TgAB positive, of whom 36 were sampled serially at 18, 30 and 36 weeks of pregnancy and 1, 6 and 12 months post partum. Twenty of the antibody negative mothers were selected at random for controls. Twelve of the 36 antibody positive mothers developed post-partum thyroid dysfunction (group 1), 24 did not (group 2) compared with none of the 20 controls (group 3). Six months post partum, TPO Ab titres rose overall in both groups 1 and 2, but only in those with measurable TPO Ab during the first trimester. A TPO Ab was less frequently positive than MAb, but the difference was not statistically significant. TPO Ab are not superior to MAb for predicting post partum thyroid disease in pregnant women.
This study presents clinical, audiological, radiological and biochemical data on 14 individuals representing 6 families, each including at least one patient with the classical Pendred's syndrome. The size of the thyroid, degree of hearing loss and result of the iodine perchlorate discharge test showed great variations, even between affected relatives. Based on these observations a new definition of Pendred's syndrome is proposed. The use of the iodine perchlorate discharge test for detection of healthy carriers among family members is suggested.
The purpose of the present study was to determine whether patients with euthyroid Graves' exophthalmopathy have an impaired NK cell function compared to patients with Graves' hyperthyroidism and healthy controls. The NK cell activity measured against K562 target cells was significantly suppressed (p less than 0.01) in patients with euthyroid Graves' ophthalmopathy, whereas the NK cell activity of patients with Graves' hyperthyroidism was not. Although interferon-alpha, interleukin-2 and indomethacin significantly enhanced (p less than 0.01) the NK cell activity in all three groups, none of these agents fully restored the defective NK cell activity in euthyroid Graves' ophthalmopathy. The concentrations in the blood of large granular lymphocytes and CD16 positive cells did not differ between the three groups, furthermore an immunosuppressive serum factor was not detected. The number of effector/target cell conjugates did not differ between patients and controls, whereas the interferon-alpha induced production of a soluble natural killer cytotoxic factor (NKCF) with specificity for NK sensitive target cells was suppressed in patients with Graves' euthyroid ophthalmopathy. We conclude that one of the mechanisms underlying the defective NK cell activity in patients with euthyroid ophthalmopathy may be an impairment of the release of NKCF from the NK cells.
In order to investigate the interrelationship between serum thyroglobulin (Tg), thyroid volume and serum TSH by a sensitive method, 176 healthy euthyroid non-goitrous subjects were studied. Furthermore the seasonal influence, assuming seasonal differences in iodine intake in Denmark, was studied in 13 healthy male volunteers. A weak correlation between serum Tg and thyroid volume was found only in female non-goitrous subjects. No correlations between serum Tg, thyroid volume, free T4 and free T3 indices, T3/T4 ratio, serum TSH by sensitive method or age were seen. Thyroid volume was increased (P less than 0.01) during the winter without any change in thyroid function or TSH level, whereas serum Tg level in these subjects was significantly lower (P less than 0.02) during the winter compared with the summer. In conclusion, serum Tg showed no correlation with either thyroid volume, super-sensitive TSH or thyroid function in a population of non-goitrous subjects in Denmark. The lack of correlation between increased thyroid volume and decreased serum Tg during the winter compared with the summer is unexplained. It might be hypothesised that short-term changes in iodine intake induce only colloid accumulation (i.e. increased thyroid volume) without changes in the glandular secretion of Tg or thyroid hormones.
Eight plasma proteins were determined in specimens taken every second day during a 14 day period from eleven patients with acute ulcerative colitis. The intra-individual variations in the concentrations of albumin, orosomucoid, haptoglobin, IgG, IgA, IgM and complement factors C3 and C4 were larger than expected in normal persons. A two-way analysis of variance was applied to the normalized protein values to estimate to what extent the observed variations could be explained by analytical errors and the influence of biological factors general to all proteins, such as changes in plasma volume and distribution between plasma and extravascular space. In half the non-operated patients the changes in all proteins could be explained by the above mentioned variations. The individual variations seen in the concentrations of haptoglobin, C4 and IgM occurred at random compared to the clinical state of the disease. Only the operated patients showed a more systematic sequence of protein changes.