HTLV-I infection in patients with autoimmune thyroiditis (Hashimoto's thyroiditis).
To investigate the possible relationship of HTLV-I virus infection to autoimmune thyroid disease, we examined, firstly, the frequency of HTLV-I seropositivity among patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis and, secondly, the frequency of Hashimoto's thyroiditis in patients with HTLV-I associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP). Of 144 patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis in the Tokushima and Kochi Prefectures, Japan, 9 (6.3%) were positive for serum HTLV-I virus antibody 2 of whom were confirmed histologically to have Hashimoto's thyroiditis. This percentage is significantly higher (P < 0.01) than the estimated prevalence (2.2%) of HTLV-I carriers among the general population in this region. Of 9 patients with HAM/TSP, 3 (33.3%), including 2 biopsy-proven cases, had evidence of Hashimoto's thyroiditis. This proportion is apparently much higher than the prevalence (1.7%) of Hashimoto's thyroiditis in the general population. These findings suggest that HTLV-I virus may be related to the development of Hashimoto's thyroiditis.
Kawai
H
H
First Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Tokushima, Japan.
Inui
T
T
Kashiwagi
S
S
Tsuchihashi
T
T
Masuda
K
K
Kondo
A
A
Niki
S
S
Iwasa
M
M
Saito
S
S
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005260:Female; D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D015490:HTLV-I Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015493:Paraparesis, Tropical Spastic / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D013967:Thyroiditis, Autoimmune / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology
D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies