Aim: The aim of the study is to evaluate the degree of the relationship between dysthyroidism and connective pathology, both autoimmune diseases, presenting, sometimes, an early common symptom: the Raynaud phenomenon.
Method: We studied 30 patients subdivided as follows: 18 affected by mixed connective pathology, 6 by scleroderma, 2 by CREST, 4 by scleroderma and Sjogren syndrome. We focused our attention on the chronology and the duration of the diagnosis, correlated to the laboratory parameters and the hypothesis of the pathogenetic pathway.
Results: 36.6% were positive to both the pathologies. One of the 11 patients resulted positive to hyperthyroidism and mixed connective, 10 patients resulted positive to hyperthyroidism subdivided in: 6 affected by sclerodermia and by 4 sclerodermia and S. of Sjogren. All the patients were positive to ANA without correlation between those values and the microsomal or antithyreoglobulin antibodies: the last two were present in 33%. The laboratory parameters indicating the inflammatory state were in the normal range, a light hypercholesterolemia was found in all patients.
Conclusion: There is a suggestive relationship between the connective pathology and dysthyroidism,therefore it can be useful to evaluate always the association of both pathologies for the future identification of the immunogenetic alteration factors, the evaluation of the composition and the turnover of the collagen, subdividing the patients in relation to the clinical and the laboratory parameters, follow up to middle and long term.