Searchable abstracts of presentations at key conferences in endocrinology
Endocrine Abstracts (2006) 11 P844

ECE2006 Poster Presentations Thyroid (174 abstracts)

Thyroxine replacement dose in patients with hashimoto disease: a potential role for interleukin-6

NP Papanas , DP Papazoglou , KP Papatheodorou , LP Papazoglou , TE Exiara , MB Bitsakaki , SK Kotsiou & EM Maltezos


Second Department of Internal Medicine, Democritus University of Thrace, Alexandroupolis, Greece.


Objective: To investigate the potential association between serum inflammatory cytokine levels and thyroxine replacement dose in patients with Hashimoto disease.

Patients and methods: The study included 40 patients (12 men) with a mean age of 56.52±6.12 years who had hypothyroidism due to Hashimoto disease. Serum Interleukin-1b (IL-1b), Tumour Necrosis Factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and Interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels, as well as TSH, fT3 and fT4 were measured (ELISA).

Results: Serum IL-6 showed a significant positive correlation both with total thyroxine replacement dose (r=0.551, P=0.001) and with dose per kilogram of body weight (r=0.482, P=0.002). There was also a significant negative linear correlation between serum IL-6 and T3 (r=−0.322, P=0.043), as well as between serum IL-6 and T3/T4 ratio (r=−0.332, P=0.036). A further significant (r=0.419, P=0.007) positive association was demonstrated between IL-6 and TNF-alpha. However, no association was found between T3 or T3/T4 ratio and TNF -alpha or IL-1b.

Conclusions: In patients with Hashimoto disease serum IL-6 levels are positively associated with thyroxine replacement dose and negatively associated with fT3 and fT4. These results are possibly attributable to the inhibitory effect of IL-6 on deiodination of T3 and imply a role for IL-6 in determining thyroxine replacement dose among these patients.

Volume 11

8th European Congress of Endocrinology incorporating the British Endocrine Societies

European Society of Endocrinology 
British Endocrine Societies 

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