Thyroid disease: Hashimoto – diagnosis and therapy in Mainz

People’s natural defence systems are failing more and more frequently. If defence cells attack the body’s own tissue, the consequences are fatal. Hashimoto’s is one of these autoimmune diseases. Hashimoto’s is no longer a foreign concept, even for medical laypeople. Hashimoto’s thyroiditis leads to a chronic, painless inflammation of the thyroid gland. Tissue of the thyroid gland is destroyed by so-called T lymphocytes as a result of an impaired immune process. Antibodies are also formed against a thyroid enzyme that is used to produce hormones.

Hashimoto’s thyroiditis leads to chronic inflammation of the thyroid gland

Prof Dr Christian Wüster, an endocrinologist in private practice in Mainz, advises women over the age of 50 and women who want to become pregnant in particular to undergo regular check-ups in order to check the function of the thyroid gland using a hormone image. ‘The disease is all too easily overlooked, especially in women over 50,’ says Prof Dr Christian Wüster.

At this age, many women are going through the menopause. Typical signs of thyroid dysfunction (listlessness, depression, heart problems, irregular menstrual cycles, hot flushes or tiredness) are often prematurely attributed to the menopause. However, hormonal imbalances are often the cause. Pregnant women with Hashimoto’s can suffer slightly more frequent miscarriages if they are not properly adjusted.

Screening examinations: Hormone picture helps to detect malfunctions

Accompanying symptoms of the menopause and thyroid dysfunction can reinforce each other. A blood test quickly provides clarity. The laboratory value of the hormone TSH indicates whether the thyroid gland is supplying the body with sufficient hormones. The free thyroid hormones thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) can also be measured. An ultrasound examination of the thyroid gland can detect changes in size and structure.

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