[Neuropathy and myopathy in patients with chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis]

Neurological investigations were performed for 53 cases with chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis diagnosed by pathology and serum antithyroid antibodies determination. Of the 53 cases, 29 had different types and severity with neurological findings, which could be divided into 5 groups: 1) Elevated levels of acetylcholine receptor antibody in 13 cases (24.1%); 2) Myopathy and weakness accompanied by elevated serum enzyme levels (GOT, CPK, LDH and alpha-HBDH) in 7 cases (13%); 3) Peripheral neuropathy in 6 cases (11.1%); 4) Encephalopathy in 2 cases (3.7%); and 5) The changes in sella turcica in 2 cases. Our data showed that the neuropathy was not closely correlated to the duration of chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis and seemed that it had no relation with the thyroid function and titer of antithyroid antibodies. However, neuropathy occurred more often in cases with both chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis and some other autoimmune disorders, suggesting that abnormal immune function might be the common background patients with chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis and neuropathy. The aforementioned data suggest that the hypothyroid function and high titer of antithyroid antibodies might not be a prerequisite for developing neuromyopathies.