What is Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis?
Autoimmune disorders occur when the body attacks healthy body tissues. Usually the immune system protects the body from infections and destroys bacteria, viruses and harmful foreign substances. Hashimoto’s disease is an autoimmune disease that damages the thyroid and causes the thyroid not produce hormones like a normal functioning thyroid would . Hashimoto’s disease happens when the immune system starts to attack the thyroid gland by large numbers of lymphocytes accumulating in the thyroid causing inflammation and this affects the thyroids ability to produce thyroid hormones and starts the autoimmune process. When the thyroid produces less hormones it becomes underactive and is referred to Hypothyroidism.
…show more content…
The thyroid is a part of the endocrine system. The thyroid produces two hormones that affect metabolism, heart function and brain development. The hormones also helps regulate body temperature, weight and skin dryness. The two hormones that the thyroid secrets is triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4). Thyroid-Stimulation hormone (TSH) is secreated by the pituitary gland, also part of the endocrine system, regulates the production on thyroid hormoes. If thyroid hormones are low the pituitart gland releases more TSH and if the thyroid hormones are hign less TSH is released. If someone is has Hashimoto’s disease the function of the thyroid and pituitary gland is affected and starts to decrease the thyroid hormones in the body and causes the pituitary gland to release more TSH into the …show more content…
Women with a family history or with other autoimmue diseases are more likely to develop this disease. People who already have a autoimmune disease such are vitiligo ( disease that destroys the cells that give your skin color), rheumatoid arthritis (disease affects the joints) type 1 diabetes (disease that causes blood sugar levels to high) and lupus (disease damages parts of the body joints, skin and organs) to name a few are also at a higher risk of getting Harhimoto’s. Researchers are also looking in to other environmental factors. It has been found that ingesting to much iodine may occupy the thyroid hormone. Pesticides, certin medications and viral diseases may also casue
Hashimoto’s Disease is a chronic Lymphocytic thyroiditis also known as autoimmune thyroiditis. It is due to chronic inflammation; the disease is a failure of the thyroid gland. Hashimoto’s disease is the most common inflammatory disorder of the thyroid and the leading cause of having hypothyroidism. The name of the disease came from a Japanese surgeon named Hashimoto Hakaru. Hakaru first described the chronic disease as Struma Lymphomatosa in a pathology report in the year 1912. Hashimoto’s Disease is a genetic trait and found to be more common in women then in men; and commonly found in women between the ages of thirty to fifty years of age. Hashimoto’s Disease can be found in children too; in the first-degree relatives that have the disease is found to have an increased incident.
Scientifically, Hashimoto’s Disease is, “a condition in which your immune system attacks your thyroid, a small gland at the base of your neck. The thyroid is a part of your endocrine system, which produces hormones that coordinate many of your body’s activities. The resulting inflammation from Hashimoto’s often leads to an under active thyroid” (Mayo Clinic.) Unfortunately, my thyroid didn’t work properly, and my body attacked it because of this.
Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks the thyroid. The thyroid is a small gland at the base of the neck that produces hormones and that help control most of the bodies activities. Inflammation to the thyroid, from Hashimoto’s, often leads to hypothyroidism, an underactive thyroid gland. Hashimoto’s disease is the number one cause of hypothyroidism in the United States. It mainly affects middle aged women but Hashimoto’s can affect men, women of any age, and even children (“Hashimoto’s Disease-National Library of Medicine-PubMed Health,” 2014).
Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, also called Hashimoto’s disease is an autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system attacks the thyroid gland. It was named for the Japanese surgeon who discovered it in 1912 The thyroid is a small butterfly shaped gland in the front of the neck. The thyroid makes hormones called T3 and T4. These hormones regulate metabolism. The thyroid is controlled by hormones of the pituitary gland, which is also called the “master gland.” It is a pea-sized gland located in the base of the brain which, among others, makes thyroid stimulating hormone, or TSH. TSH stimulates the thyroid to make thyroid hormone. With Hashimoto’s disease, the thyroid cells are damaged resulting in the inability to make enough thyroid
Hashimoto thyroiditis is a common disease caused by hypothyroidism. The immune system cells attack the thyroid gland, causing inflammation and eventually destruction of the gland. This reduces the thyroids ability to make hormones. These hormones are known as thyroxine (T4) and tri-iodothyronine (T3) (Better health channel 2015).
Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis can also come as an attack on the thyroid via an autoimmune disorder. The immune system can attack the thyroid; however, no one knows exactly why this
In Hashimoto’s disease, the immune system attacks the thyroid gland, causing inflammation and interfering with its ability to produce thyroid hormones.
Response: Hashimoto’s thyroiditis is characterized as a type of immune disorder and is the leading cause of hypothyroidism in America.1 The gradual failure of the thyroid is due to an autoimmune disorder that is causing glandular destruction.2 Thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) are two hormones
Hashimoto's disease can also be called chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis or autoimmune thyroiditis. An autoimmune disease happens when the body's immune system attacks it's own cells and organs instead of its normal job of protecting the body from infection. Hashimoto's disease specifically attacks the thyroid gland, causing inflammation interfering with the ability to produce thyroid hormones. (http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hashimotos-disease/basics/definition/con-20030293) A large number of white blood cells also accumulate in the thyroid. These white
Hashimoto’s Disease is an autoimmune disease that causes the immune system to attack the thyroid gland. Hashimoto’s disease causes inflammation to the gland causing chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis, resulting in hypothyroidism (Mayo clinic, 2014). This is the most common cause of hypothyroidism in the US and the symptoms are manifested by fatigue, cold intolerance, constipation, weight gain, pale , dry skin, hoarse voice, pain and stiffness in the joints and muscles, menorrhagia, and depression (Mayo clinic, 2014).
Graves’ disease is autoimmune that effects the thyroid in front of the neck. This thyroid creates T3 and T4 which helps regulate how the body uses energy. We have a small gland called pituitary in the brain that helps the thyroid regulate the hormone level properly. With grave’s disease the immune system creates antibodies that act like TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) which than makes the thyroid to create more hormones than what the body needs to have. This is called hyperthyroidism. Graves’ disease causes the body to speed up such as the heart and the metabolism. The symptoms for graves’ disease are goiter (enlarged gland) Anxiety and irritability, A fine tremor of your hands or fingers, Heat sensitivity and an increase in perspiration
Commonly, problems with the thyroid involve an abnormal production level of these hormones. It is called hyperthyroidism if there the thyroid hormones are overproduced, and this can cause things like Graves’ disease, Toxic adenomas, and subacute thyroiditis (7). Hypothyroidism is the underproduction of the hormones which can be caused by an inflamed thyroid, iodine deficiency, a non-functioning thyroid gland and more. Hypothyroidism is especially dangerous in infants and newborns as the lack of these thyroid hormones can lead to mental retardation and dwarfism (7). However, in humans hypothyroidism can be caused by things such as a pituitary disorder, a defective thyroid or a lack of the gland completely. (7)
Normally, the thyroid gets its production orders through another chemical called thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), released by the pituitary gland in the brain. But in Graves' disease, a malfunction in the body's immune system releases abnormal antibodies that mimic TSH. Spurred by these false signals to produce, the thyroid's hormone factories work overtime and exceed their normal quota.
Thyroid hormones are thermogenic which means that they tend to produce heat through metabolic stimulation. They interact with other hormones to modulate protein, carbohydrate and fat metabolism as well5. As mentioned earlier, one main symptom of Graves’ disease is heat intolerance which can cause excess sweating of the patient. Since thyroid hormones produce heat, if a patient has over stimulation of the hormone, that is what causes the excess heat production. In Graves’ disease, the body produces antibodies called thyroid-stimulating immunoglobulins (TSI). They take the place of TSH attaching to the TSH receptors and activating them on the thyroid gland. Therefore, the negative feedback loop of over secretion of the thyroid gland is blocked and cannot be
The main cause of hyperthyroidism Graves’ disease which affects quite a few people in the general population. This disease is characterized as an autoimmune disorder. This means that the body makes antibodies known as thyroid stimulating immunoglobulin that bind and over activate the production of thyroid hormones [3]. So in essence the antibody mimics the thyroid stimulating hormone and when the negative feedback loop is in affect the antibody still binds to the thyroid and T3 and T4 are over produced [2].