The disease of autoimmune thyroiditis (aka Hashimoto's goiter) develops due to impaired immune responses and is characterized by inflammation of the thyroid gland. The pathological process is that the body produces antibodies to gland cells, which changes their structure, quantity and functions.
Diagnosis: autoimmune thyroiditis
The causes of the disease can be many. One of the main factors is the environment: a person can live in a polluted area (with industrial waste, pesticides, radiation exposure). The development of the disease with autoimmune thyroiditis may be associated with prolonged use of drugs containing lithium and the intake of large doses of iodine. Also, Hashimoto's goiter can develop under the influence of an interferon drug. Any viral or bacterial infection, acute or chronic, can start the process of the disease. Heredity is also not excluded.
Other disorders of the thyroid gland can serve as a background for the occurrence of thyroiditis: endemic or diffuse toxic goiter, cancer or adenoma. The risk group includes people over forty years of age, in particular women, as well as people with impaired functions.thyroid gland, who underwent surgery on the gland, as well as patients with diabetes mellitus, ovarian sclerocystosis, galactorrhea-amenorrhea syndrome, autoimmune and allergic diseases.
Symptoms of autoimmune thyroiditis
The disease usually develops slowly, with gradual onset of symptoms, and can do so in a variety of ways. The hypertrophic form entails a noticeable increase in the thyroid gland, the sick person may experience difficulty in swallowing, a feeling of squeezing the neck, and general weakness. As a rule, pain does not occur. An increase in the function of the gland, which is observed in the disease of autoimmune thyroiditis, leads to a feeling of heat, irritability, weight loss, sweating. Over time, the functions of the thyroid gland fade, which leads to a hypothyroid state, characterized by dry skin, memory impairment, slow heartbeat, weight gain, chilliness, hair loss. In the atrophic form of the disease, there is a gradual decrease in the production of thyroid hormones. The symptoms are the same as in the hypertrophied form.
Only in this case, the gland is almost impossible to probe. There is also a latent form of the course of the disease, in which symptoms do not appear, so the presence of the disease can only be determined in the course of laboratory tests.
Autoimmune thyroiditis of the thyroid gland: treatment
Hashimoto's goiter is treated by normalizing the levelhormones secreted by the thyroid gland into the blood. If the production function is reduced, lifelong replacement therapy is prescribed. It is important to remember that this disease requires constant monitoring by an endocrinologist, since a universal specific treatment for thyroiditis has not been developed to date. Be attentive to your he alth, especially when it comes to the thyroid gland.
