[The autonomy of thyroid tissue as a pathogenetic manifestation of thyrotoxicosis]

The most frequent prerequisites of high production of the thyroid hormones leading to hyperthyroidism in the areas of endemic goiter are thyroid autonomous tissues. The problems were to investigate the influence of iodine prophylaxis on the state of one of the "main" risk factors of hyperthyroidism (thyroid autonomous tissue), to study the level of hyperthyroidism risk with relation to the amount of autonomous tissue, and to study the safety of prolonged iodine prophylaxis. A total of 864 patients with thyroid autonomy were investigated. The main group included 40 patients who received iodinated potassium prophylaxis at a daily dose of 130 micrograms for 6 mos. The evaluation of function of the hypothalamo-hypophyseal-thyroid system included visualization of the thyroid, RIA for the determination of the thyroid hormones and TSH using the TRH test. Iodine prophylaxis in patients with autonomous tissue below the "critical" volume did not cause hyperthyroidism.