Causes and mechanisms of Hashimoto's chronic thyroiditis

The thyroid gland is a relatively small endocrine gland located in the front of the neck and shaped like a butterfly. Patients with thyroid disease will greatly affect the nervous system, digestive system, circulatory system,... One of the most common thyroid diseases today is Hashimoto's chronic thyroiditis.

Hashimoto's chronic thyroiditis occurs when the immune system attacks the thyroid gland, a small gland in the neck and below the pharynx. The thyroid gland is part of the endocrine system, producing hormones that coordinate many of the body's functions. Hashimoto's chronic thyroiditis is common in people with an underactive thyroid.

Although the cause of Hashimoto's thyroiditis has not been found yet, in general the following factors are considered to be the main causative agents of the disease, including:
Genetics: according to statistics, most cases of the disease Patients with Hashimoto's chronic thyroiditis all have family members who have had this disease or some thyroid-related disease, or an immune system disorder. Thus, heredity is considered to be a culprit in Hashimoto's chronic thyroiditis. Gender: Women are more likely to get Hashimoto's disease than men. In particular, there are many women who have suffered from thyroid problems in the first year after giving birth. Although these problems may resolve on their own, there are also many cases where the disease grows larger, becoming Hashimoto's thyroiditis in the years that follow. Radiation contamination: many reports have shown that the number of patients with gland inflammation begins to increase from those who have been exposed to radiation or radiation therapy patients due to Hodgkin's blood cancer.

At present, the pathogenesis is not fully understood, but all medical experts recognize it as an autoimmune disease. In the past, when antibodies could not be found in the blood of people with the disease, the disease was usually diagnosed only by a biopsy of the thyroid gland.
Hashimoto's chronic thyroiditis, also known as chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis, is divided into 2 main types as follows:
Hashimoto's chronic thyroiditis for classic forms. Other autoimmune forms of thyroiditis, including Hashimoto's deformities, and some lesions that are quite similar to Hashimoto's, such as childhood and adolescent lymphocytic thyroiditis, or atrophic thyroiditis (forms of the disease). This can cause “idiopathic” myxedema, or asymptomatic atrophic thyroiditis. Regarding epidemiology, although there are no specific investigations, it can be seen that Hashimoto's thyroiditis is very common, with an increasing frequency in recent years.
In particular, 90% of the disease occurs in women, but the disease can also be seen in any age group, most commonly in the age group from 30-60 years old, may stem from many different factors. familial, or co-occurs with other autoimmune diseases such as diabetes mellitus, pernicious anemia, idiopathic hypoparathyroidism, idiopathic adrenal atrophy, rheumatoid arthritis, asthenia Myopathy, chronic hepatitis attack, premature graying of hair, Sjogren's syndrome, biliary cirrhosis,...
Particularly Schmidt's syndrome can include the following diseases: Hashimoto's chronic thyroiditis, diabetes, adrenal insufficiency idiopathic, hypoparathyroidism, ovarian failure.

Early detection of the disease for prompt treatment will bring the best results for the patient. Therefore, if you experience some of the following symptoms of the disease, quickly see a doctor for examination and treatment:
Fatigue, body aches; Poor cold tolerance, sensitive to cold winds; Frequent constipation ; Dry and pale skin, brittle nails, heavy hair loss; Unexplained weight gain; Menstrual irregularities, menorrhagia or excessive periods; Memory loss. In order to make a timely diagnosis of Hashimoto's chronic thyroiditis, the patient will be asked by the doctor to perform some mandatory blood tests to check the level of thyroid hormone in the blood.
In most cases, the doctor will ask you to perform T3 and T4 tests to determine the patient's hypothyroidism, if both values ​​are within the acceptable limits, the patient will additional TSH test is required.

This is a hormone that is secreted quite a lot to stimulate the thyroid gland to work if the thyroid gland is tending to be underactive. In addition, the doctor may ask the patient to check for antibodies that can fight the components of the thyroid gland in the patient's body such as: anti-TPO, anti-TG.
Hashimoto's chronic thyroiditis will not endanger the patient's health if the patient is in the euthyroid stage. Therefore, if the patient is in this stage, the patient does not need to be treated with drugs, just need to perform periodic check-ups to monitor the specific progress of the disease.
In cases where the disease has progressed to the stage of hypothyroidism, then the thyroid gland will not produce enough thyroid hormone, so the treatment of this disease using hormone replacement levothyroxine is considered essential. .
This drug will not cause unwanted side effects if used for the right purpose, and in the correct dose prescribed by the doctor. After a period of using the drug, the condition will improve markedly, and the thyroid gland will gradually decrease, but stopping the drug is impossible and should not be.
Hashimoto's chronic thyroiditis is a very complex disease. In which, the process of detecting the disease, finding out the cause, the mechanism of disease formation is relatively difficult and depends on many factors. Therefore, you should choose a reputable facility for medical examination.
Early detection of Hashimoto's chronic thyroiditis can help improve the effectiveness of treatment and reduce unwanted complications. The most effective measure is to have a regular physical exam to detect thyroid problems and other health problems early.
Currently, Vinmec International General Hospital has general health checkup packages suitable for each age, gender and individual needs of customers with a reasonable price policy, including:
Health checkup package Diamond Health Checkup Package Vip General Health Checkup Package Special General Health Checkup Package Comprehensive General Health Checkup Package Standard General Health Checkup Package Patient's examination results will be returned to your home. After receiving the results of the general health examination, if you detect diseases that require intensive examination and treatment, you can use services from other specialties at the Hospital with quality treatment and services. outstanding customer service.