I have heard lately for some disease called Hashimoto. I was wondering what it could be, and then my friend told me it is all about thyroid gland. Because I think I have thyroid problems, I became very interested. Can you tell me something about Hashimoto? Is that serious disease, and how it could be treated?
Hashimoto’s disease is enlarged thyroid gland, named after the Japanese physician, Hakaru Hashimoto, who first described it in 1912. The thyroid gland is enlarged, although only one side may be enlarged enough to feel. During the course of this disease, the cells of the thyroid become inefficient in converting iodine into thyroid hormone. Iodine uptake may be paradoxically high while the patient is hypothyroid because the gland retains the ability to take-up iodine even after it has lost its ability to produce thyroid hormone. Treatment for Hashimoto is to start thyroid hormone replacement. This prevents or corrects the hypothyroidism and it generally keeps the gland from getting even larger. In most cases of Hashimoto, the thyroid gland will decrease in size once thyroid hormone replacement is started. Thyroid antibodies are present in 95% of patients with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. Thyroid antibodies may remain for years after the disease has been adequately treated and the patient is on thyroid hormone replacement.
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