January - March 2006, Volume 2, Issue 1

Peretianu D, Tudor A, Diculescu M, Giurcaneanu C, Cojocaru M, Radu LV, Ionescu-Calinesti L

Thyroid and cutaneous autoimmunity - coincidence or common mechanisms?

Acta Endo (Buc) 2006, 2 (1): 111-121
doi: 10.4183/aeb.2006.111

The study comments unusual associations between thyroid and cutaneous autoimmunity: Graves-Basedow disease (GBD), vitiligo and alopecia areata (AA) starting from two cases. In the first case, a woman with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), data were recorded from 38 to 49 years as follows: vitiligo (at 38 ys), alopecia areata (4-6 months afterwards), SLE (after 2 ys) and then GBD (after 8 ys). After 3 years, hyperthyroidism has spontaneously vanished, but vitiligo, AA, leucothrichia, SLE, goiter and ophthalmopathy persisted. In the second case, a man, data were recorded from 26 to 70 years and the disease was associated with psoriasis. The sequence of diseases was: vitiligo (at 26 ys), AA and GBD (after 8 ys), followed by iatrogenic 131I hypothyroidism, and psoriasis (after 33 ys). Vitiligo and AA have spontaneously vanished before GBD began. These multiple immune syndrome associations bring up the question: ?Are these diseases multiple associations or a unique immune disease?? A possible point of view, related to immune network, suggests that these multiple associations represent in fact only one process, therefore they represent not many diseases, but different expressions in time (sequence) and space (organ-lesion) of the disease of the immune network.

Keywords: Graves-Basedow disease, vitiligo, alopecia areata, systemic lupus erythematosus, psoriasis, immune network, immune diseases

Correspondence: Dan Peretianu, Povernei street, no. 32, phone: +40. 722504098, e-mail: dperatianu@hotmail.com