A rare case of Riedel's thyroiditis, 6 years after retroperitoneal fibrosis: two diseases with one pathogenesis?
We describe a 70-yr-old female patient in whom both a retroperitoneal fibrosis and 6 years later a Riedel's thyroiditis were diagnosed. Both diseases belong to the group of fibrotic diseases called "multifocal fibrosis". Retroperitoneal fibrosis is now known to be an auto-allergic reaction to lipid components of the atherosclerotic process in the abdominal aorta, resulting in a fibrotic reaction around it. We hypothesize that similarly Riedel's thyroiditis is in fact a periarteritis of the carotid artery, resulting in cervical fibrosis, secondarily involving the thyroid. This hypothesis would account for the occurrence of these two rare diseases in one patient.
de Boer
W A
WA
Department of Internal Medicine, Academisch Medisch Centrum, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands.
van Coevorden
F
F
Wiersinga
W M
WM
D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D012185:Retroperitoneal Fibrosis / Q000150:complications* / Q000209:etiology; D013961:Thyroid Gland / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D013966:Thyroiditis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology*