title: Rheumatic and autoimmune thyroid disorders: a causal or casual relationship?
abstract: A number of dysfunctions may affect the thyroid gland leading either to hyper- or hypothyroidism which are mediated by autoimmune mechanisms. Thyroid abnormalities may represent an isolated alteration or they may be the harbinger of forthcoming disorders as is the case of well-characterized polyendocrine syndromes. Also, they may precede or follow the appearance of rheumatic manifestations in patients affected with connective tissue diseases or rheumatoid arthritis. The mechanisms by which autoimmune thyroid disorders may be linked to systemic autoimmune diseases have not been fully unraveled yet, however alterations of common pathways are suggested by shared genetic variants affecting autoantigen presentation and regulation of the immune response. On the other hand, the higher prevalence of autoimmune thyroid disorders over rheumatic diseases compels the chance of a mere causal concomitancy in the same patient. The aim of our paper is to provide an overview of available data on thyroid involvement in different rheumatic diseases and to go over the main rheumatic manifestations in the context of autoimmune thyroid diseases.
authors.forename: Khalil
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bourji
authors.forename: Mariele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gatto
authors.forename: Franco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cozzi
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Doria
authors.forename: Leonardo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Punzi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006801:Humans; D015995:Prevalence; D011336:Probability; D012216:Rheumatic Diseases / Q000150:complications* / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D013959:Thyroid Diseases / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D013961:Thyroid Gland / Q000473:pathology