Eight years prior to her present admission, a 61-year-old Japanese woman was diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis, slowly progressive insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, and chronic thyroiditis; she had been treated with oral prednisolone (PSL). After she suddenly discontinued PSL, she newly developed systemic lupus erythematosus. A combination therapy of oral PSL and intravenous cyclophosphamide resulted in remission. She was finally diagnosed with autoimmune polyglandular syndrome (APS) type 3 (3A ,3B, 3D), complicated with four different autoimmune diseases. Since patients with type 3 APS may present many manifestations over a long period of time, they should be carefully monitored.
Keywords: autoimmune hepatitis; autoimmune polyglandular syndrome type 3; chronic thyroiditis; slowly progressive insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus; systemic lupus erythematosus.