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Updated: Jul 5, 2026

Generation of a Mouse Spontaneous Autoimmune Thyroiditis Model
Published on: March 17, 2023
Herpes virus antibodies seroprevalence in children with autoimmune thyroid disease
Dimitrios Thomas1, Feneli Karachaliou, Konstantina Kallergi
1Department of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Diabetes, Metaxa Memorial Anticancer Research Hospital, Botasi 51 Str, Piraeus, Greece. thomasproge@endo.gr
Background:
Elevated titers of antibodies against different herpes virus antigens have been reported in some immunodeficient and systemic autoimmune disorders.
Objective:
To examine if Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), and cytomegalovirus (CMV) IgG and IgM antibodies are detected more frequently in children with autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD) compared to controls.
Subjects And Methods:
Thirty-four children with AITD, aged 9.62 +/- 2.35 years, and 31 matched controls, aged 9.24 +/- 2.98 years, were studied.
Results:
The percentage of EBV IgG+ children with AITD was statistically higher than the percentage of EBV IgG+ controls (82.35% versus 51.61%, P = 0.008). The percentage of EBV IgG+ children with AITD and hypothyroidism was statistically higher than the percentage of EBV IgG+ children with AITD, without hypothyroidism (100% versus 70%, P = 0.024). No other statistically significant differences were observed in HSV-1+2, and CMV IgG or IgM antibodies between the subgroups of children studied.
Conclusions:
EBV seroprevalence is higher in children with AITD compared to controls and the underlying pathology remains to be elucidated.
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