Abstract
Autoimmune thyroid diseases (AITD), the most common endocrine disorders affecting humans, cause cellular damage and alter the thyroid gland function by humoral and cell-mediated mechanisms. Three principal thyroid autoantigens are involved in the development of AITD: thyroperoxidase (TPO), thyroglobulin (TG) and thyroid stimulating hormone receptor (TSH-R). Other autoantigens have also been described, but as yet their diagnostic role in thyroid autoimmunity has not been established. Laboratory tests that determine the cell-mediated aspects of the autoimmune process are not currently available. However, tests of the humoral response, i.e. thyroid autoantibodies, can be assessed in most clinical laboratories. Thyroid autoantibodies are valuable for classification and reflect disease activity and progression. Lately, TPO antibodies assays have been used for the assessment of risk for developing AITD. Thyroid autoantibodies measurement is hampered by method specificity and sensitivity problems, as well as suboptimal standardization. Despite that, autoantibody tests have inherent clinical utility in a number of clinical situations.
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