Abstract

Cortisol and prolactin, which are considered to have an immunomodulatory effect, and selected autoantibodies were determined in Hashimoto's thyroiditis. 37 patients (8 males and 29 females) (54 +/- 13.8 years) and an equal number of sex- and age-matched normal subjects (52.6 +/- 14.2 years) were studied. None of the 74 subjects suffered from any other immunological, infectious, hepatic, renal or malignant diseases. Patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis exhibited significantly higher (p < 0.016) prolactin values (14.0 +/- 3.8 ng/ml) than did control subjects (6.5 +/- 1.3 ng/ml). In contrast, cortisol levels were lower in Hashimoto's thyroiditis (13.5 +/- 3.2 microg/dl) vs. normal state (16.0 +/- 1.13 microg/dl), (p < 0.05). The prevalence of anti-TPO and anti-Tg antibodies was 100 % and 43 % in the patients with Hashimoto's disease. In contrast, no subject of the control group was positive for anti-TPO, although 9 subjects (24 %) were positive for anti-Tg autoantibodies. The percentage of positive autoantibodies to nucleus, smooth-muscle, and parietal cells in the patients (36.0, 10.9 and 18.5 %, respectively) was higher than that in healthy group (11.0 and 0 % respectively). Notably, neither group was positive for antibodies against double-stranded DNA or mitochondria. In conclusion, our results provide evidence for a polyclonal activity in Hashimoto's thyroiditis, an organ-specific autoimmune disease, associated with an altered prolactin-adrenocortical status. Such information should initiate longitudinal studies to clarify the exact time sequence of these events related to the disease's activity.