Thyroid Endocrinology: The Future is Now

Abstract

…E quelli che s'inarnorono di pratica senza scientia sono come il nocchiere che entra navilio senza timone e bussola, e che mai ha certezza dove si vada… [He who loves practice without theory is like the sailor who boards ship without a rudder and compass and never knows where he may be cast.] (Leonardo Da Vinci) Thyroid endocrinology aims to advance our knowledge of the physiopathology of the thyroid gland. The thyroidologist, like all physicians concerned with internal medicine, lives in an environment of increasing specialization and multiplying subspecialties. This applies also to thyroid research, in which the divide between “basic” and “clinical” scientists is often wider than it should be. Consequently, the grand challenge that Frontiers in Thyroid Endocrinology faces is to provide a common platform for the opinions and rigorous investigations of both of them. Of course, the link will be the so-called “translational research,” in which both sides of the coin merge in the ultimate interest of the patient affected by thyroid disease. I will quote only a few examples of a non-exhaustive list of ideas and a few examples of “hot topics” that are jostling for attention. I am fully aware of the limits of this list, but my aim is to give a flavor of what and where the grand challenges are and what awaits us in the near future.