[Extra-thyroid autoantibodies in autoimmune thyroiditis]

Organ specific autoimmune diseases do not occur isolated. In the authors group of 4509 patients with confirmed autoimmune thyroiditis the authors investigated the frequency of extrathyroid organ specific and non-specific autoantibodies. The objective was to draw attention to other autoimmune diseases which may not yet be clinically manifest. The mutual positivity of antibodies against thyroid peroxidase (TPO) and antibodies against the adrenals was: in the zona glomerulosa 21.1%, in the zona fasciculata 3.0%, in the zona reticularis 19.5%, in the adrenal medulla 9.0%. The mutual positivity of antibodies against TPO and ovaries was 28.5%, testes 12.5%, parathyroid 10.2%, islets of Langerhans 8.2%, hair follicles 45.0%, cell nuclei 26.1%, mitochondria 3.1%, smooth muscles 2.4%, striated muscle 0.2%, and gastroparietal cells of the stomach 12.3%. These results draw attention to the importance of polyclonal activation of the autoimmune process in endocrinopathies and the necessity to assess extrathyroid autoantibodies in autoimmune thyroiditis.