The thyroid gland is a very important organ in our body. It stores all the iodine that enters the body, the gland produces hormones that regulate metabolism and are involved in the process of cell growth. Autoimmune thyroiditis leading to hypothyroidism is the most common disease affecting the thyroid gland.

Notably, autoimmune thyroiditis is more common in women than in men. Statistics note that the incidence rate of the female population is about 10 times higher. But not only the fair sex is at risk of getting sick, a teenager, and even a child, can be diagnosed with a thyroid gland lesion. However, male thyroiditis is more aggressive, the disease passes much faster into a more complex form – hypothyroidism.

Characteristics of the disease

The essence of autoimmune thyroiditis is a violation of the immune function of the whole organism, when the defense system fails, and the thyroid gland begins to be recognized as a foreign object. As a result, the body begins to produce special cells that attack the “harmful organ”, eventually destroying the thyroid gland.

If the disease is left unattended, then after some time it will flow into hypothyroidism, and after it it can turn into a myxematous coma, which is very dangerous and often even fatal.

This disease was discovered and described a little more than a hundred years ago by the Japanese surgeon Hashimoto. He found that the thyroid gland becomes inflamed when the body begins to produce lymphocytes, and they, in turn, create antibodies to thyroid tissues. So she gets hurt.

Most often, the disease affects women during menopause or before it – the age of 45-50 years. Autoimmune thyroiditis is not yet fully understood by scientists, but they know for sure that the disease is clearly hereditary. An autoimmune process with aggravated heredity can be triggered by any negative external factor, such as an acute viral infection or a chronic infectious focus. Such infections can be considered otitis media, sinusitis, sinusitis, chronic tonsillitis, and even a tooth affected by caries. There are cases when an autoimmune process starts in the thyroid gland as a result of taking iodine preparations for a long time and without proper control. And also the cause of autoimmune thyroiditis can be abundant radiation.

Causes of the disease

The development of autoimmune thyroiditis is provoked by the following factors:

• severe infections and viral diseases;
• damage to the thyroid gland and penetration into the blood of its components;
• strong concentration of radioactive substances;
• an overdose of iodine;
• prolonged and abundant penetration of toxins into the body (methanol, phenol, toluene, thallium, benzene).

As a rule, patients genetically predisposed to this disease are accompanied by diseases such as:

• chronic hepatitis of an autoimmune nature;
• diabetes;
• rheumatoid arthritis;
• vitiligo (disturbance of pigmentation, the appearance of white spots on the skin);
• primary autoimmune hypocorticism ;
• pernicious anemia.

It should be noted that with autoimmune thyroiditis there is a sharp jump in the amount of thyroid hormones, and after the transition of the disease to hypothyroidism, the content of these hormones in the blood decreases sharply and steadily.

Autoimmune thyroiditis is of two types:

1. Hypertrophic – with it, the thyroid gland increases in size. At the same time, its function may remain normal, decrease or greatly increase. In the neck, pain and pressure are felt, the mucous membrane of the larynx swells. The patient has increased sweating, trembling hands, high temperature, and other signs of increased thyroid function. With the course of the disease, hyperthyroidism turns into hypothyroidism against the background of autoimmune thyroiditis (sluggish, weakened state).
2. Atrophic – in this case, the thyroid gland decreases. This form of the disease is more common in older people. They have frequent drowsiness, weakness and lethargy, hearing goes down, the voice becomes hoarse, its timbre changes, the face swells, the skin becomes dry.

The disease proceeds rather slowly, sometimes imperceptibly, and progressing, it passes into hypothyroidism.

Symptoms of autoimmune thyroiditis

The symptomatology of this disease, in principle, is similar to other diseases of the thyroid gland, where there is a decline in its activity:

• mental activity decreases, memory deteriorates;
• physical activity falls, a person becomes lethargic, slow, weakens;
• many parts of the body and even internal organs swell;
• appearance noticeably worsens: the skin turns yellow, begins to peel off, becomes dry, hair and nails often break;
• there are malfunctions in the work of the heart and blood vessels, breathing is disturbed, the nervous system suffers, severe arrhythmia appears;
• in women, there is a lack of menstruation, sometimes infertility develops, and in men, as a rule, the level of potency decreases.

Diagnosis of the disease

An experienced endocrinologist immediately recognizes a patient with autoimmune thyroiditis, because the external signs speak for themselves. But still, clinical studies are needed here:

1. Blood test for the amount of thyroid hormones. In addition, it is necessary to diagnose the activity of the pituitary gland, which synthesizes thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH). This is the main hormone of the thyroid gland, which completely controls its activity. Low or high values allow a positive diagnosis.
2. Examination of blood serum for the presence of antibodies to thyroperoxidase (AT-TPO) and thyroglobulin (AT-TG).
3. Ultrasound of the thyroid gland – allows you to determine the size of the organ, its structure and consistency, as well as the presence of tumors and nodes.
4. Thyroid scintigraphy is a method that determines its functional activity. A special apparatus examines whether the gland is able to capture iodine from the bloodstream, because thyroid hormones are then synthesized from it. Sufficient supply of the gland with iodine ensures its stable operation.
5. Fine-needle biopsy – is carried out after all of the above activities, if, according to their results, everything indicates the presence of a disease, and even more so if nodular formations are recorded. During the biopsy procedure, the doctor uses a special needle to take a small piece of thyroid tissue for histological examination. Using this method, you can find out the nature of the tumor and exclude malignant neoplasms.

Treatment of autoimmune thyroiditis

This disease proceeds very slowly, over several years, the treatment is also long and comprehensive. The therapy includes the following steps:

• Replacement therapy – drugs based on thyroid hormones, can be synthetic or natural.
• Reception of glucocorticoids – eliminate autoimmune disorders. Since the disease is associated with a malfunction of the immune system, these drugs suppress its vigorous activity so that the cells do not destroy their own body. Synthetic drugs can be used here, as well as hormones of the adrenal cortex.
• Immunomodulators that correct failures in the work of the protective system. Since glucocorticoids suppress the immune system, the body is endangered. In this state, it can easily be attacked by bacteria and viruses that are both inside the body and getting there from the outside. Therefore, reliable protection is required. For such purposes, the attending physician prescribes drugs that partially replace immunity, that is, they perform its functions, albeit partially, but the body does not remain without protection.
• Special diet and individually tailored exercise program. Hypothyroidism is characterized by a slow metabolism, which leads to edema and obesity. It is necessary to take active measures: observe a diet, do not overeat, reduce fluid intake, reduce the amount of food consumed, remove sweets, canned food, fatty and fried foods from the diet.

Diet for hypothyroidism

Changing your diet and eating habits is not a panacea for autoimmune thyroiditis, but some simple tips can slow down relapses and improve overall well-being:

• it is necessary to exclude soy – it belongs to the so-called antithyroid products, that is, it stimulates the production of estrogens that inhibit the secretion of thyroid hormones;
• It is recommended to avoid polyunsaturated fats and switch to saturated fats. The latter maintain normal sugar levels and regulate the activity of stress hormones, the increase of which directly affects the occurrence of hypothyroidism;
• regularly eat seafood – they have a lot of iodine and selenium, they normalize the activity of the thyroid gland. In addition, their assimilation directly from seafood is much better than from artificial food additives;
• include fruits in the diet as often as possible – they contain potassium, which affects the normalization of the amount of sugar in the blood, thereby reducing the level of the stress hormone;
• use broth on the bone – rich in easily digestible nutrients that relieve the symptoms of autoimmune thyroiditis. In such a broth there are amino acids that act positively on the body and fight inflammation;
• limit the amount of fluid you drink per day – the maximum amount of water is 1.5 liters. It should not be exceeded due to swelling and stagnation of fluid in the body, characteristic of hypothyroidism;
• Refusal of refined foods – thanks to them, blood sugar rises, and consequently, stress hormones. Toxins in such products interfere with the activation of thyroid hormones;
• it is recommended to drink coffee – the B vitamins and magnesium contained in it help the thyroid gland to work properly. A day should be limited to a couple of cups of coffee.