Abstract
We report on a case of autoimmune thyroiditis in a 6-month-old patient with cortico-resistant nephrotic syndrome. Normal serum levels of thyroid hormons and thyroid-stimulating hormone were detected with high titers of circulant antithyroid antibodies and a dysomogeneous ultrasound appearance of the gland, typical of autoimmune thyroiditis. The research of maternal thyroid antibodies was negative. This is the first case of autoimmune thyroiditis found in such a young patient with pre-existing nephrotic syndrome ever described in literature. This association is random because nephrotic syndrome does not have an autoimmune pathogenesis and the genes involved in autoimmune thyroiditis are not related to those of nephrotic syndrome.
Highlights
Autoimmune diseases are very rare conditions in infancy, especially in the first year of life [1,2,3,4]
We report on a case of unusual early-onset autoimmune thyroiditis in a 6-month-old child affected by nephrotic syndrome
After a month a blood assay revealed the persistence of high titers of antithyroid antibodies associated to a slight decrease of thyroid hormones and normal levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone, without any clinical sign of hypothyroidism
Summary
Autoimmune diseases are very rare conditions in infancy, especially in the first year of life [1,2,3,4]. We report on a case of unusual early-onset autoimmune thyroiditis in a 6-month-old child affected by nephrotic syndrome. A case of isolated autoimmune thyroiditis has been reported previously at a so early age: the patient, a 7-month-old child, died at the age of 9 months for a sepsis and his autopsy revealed a thyroid atrophy [1].
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