Ipertiroidismo e tiroidite autoimmune in età evolutiva

Hyperthyroidism is a rare clinical entity in paediatric age. In most cases the etiology is autoimmune and goiter represents the typical presentation. Ophthalmopathy is rare and can precede the diagnosis of autoimmune hyperthyroidism. Thyrotoxicosis caused by the hyperthyroid phase of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis must be carefully distinguished from Graves’ disease (GD), since the first condition has a better prognosis for spontaneous remission. Three treatment options are currently available for the management of paediatric GD. First-line therapy is antithyroid drugs, while thyroidectomy and radioiodine are considered on relapse. A lower remission rate and a higher risk of adverse events are observed after the first course of methimazole in childhood with respect to adulthood. Children and adolescents may require a prolonged antithyroid treatment, but an overall consensus regarding the optimal regimen is lacking.

Neurometabolite Changes in Hyperthyroid Patients Before and After Antithyroid Treatment: An in vivo1H MRS Study

Purpose: Patients with hyperthyroidism have frequent neuropsychiatric symptoms such as lack of attention, concentration, poor memory, impaired executive functions, depression, and anxiety. These neurocognitive impairments such as memory, attention, and executive functions appear to be associated with dysfunction in brain regions. This study was conducted to investigate the metabolic changes in the brain subcortical regions, i.e., posterior parietal cortex and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), in patients with hyperthyroidism before and after antithyroid treatment using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H MRS).Materials and Methods: We collected neuropsychological and 1H MRS data from posterior parietal cortex and DLPFC, in both control (N = 30) and hyperthyroid (N = 30) patients. In addition, follow-up data were available for 19 patients treated with carbimazole for 30 weeks. The relative ratios of the neurometabolites were calculated using the Linear Combination Model (LCModel). Analysis of co-variance using Bonferroni correction was performed between healthy controls and hyperthyroid patients, and a paired t-test was applied in patients at baseline and follow-up. Spearman’s rank-order correlation was used to analyze bivariate associations between thyroid hormone levels and metabolite ratios, and the partial correlation analysis was performed between neuropsychological scores and metabolite ratios, with age and sex as covariates, in the patients before and after treatment.Results: Our results revealed a significant decrease in choline/creatine [glycerophosphocholine (GPC) + phosphocholine (PCh)/creatine (tCr)] in both the posterior parietal cortex and DLPFC in hyperthyroid patients, and these changes were reversible after antithyroid treatment. The posterior parietal cortex also showed significantly reduced glutamate/creatine (Glu/tCr), (glutamate + glutamine)/creatine (Glx/tCr), and increased glutathione/creatine (GSH/tCr) ratios in the hyperthyroid patients over control subjects. In DLPFC, only (N-acetyl aspartate + N-acetyl aspartyl-glutamate)/creatine (NAA + NAAG)/tCr was increased in the hyperthyroid patients. After antithyroid treatment, (GPC + PCh)/tCr increased, and Glx/tCr decreased in both brain regions in the patients at follow-up. Gln/tCr in the posterior parietal cortex was decreased in patients at follow-up. Interestingly, (GPC + PCh)/tCr in DLPFC showed a significantly inverse correlation with free tri-iodothyronine (fT3) in hyperthyroid patients at baseline, whereas NAA/tCr showed positive correlations with fT3 and free thyroxine (fT4) in hyperthyroid patients before and after antithyroid treatment, in the posterior parietal cortex. In DLPFC, only (NAA + NAAG)/tCr showed positive correlations with fT3 and fT4 in the patients before treatment.Conclusion: The overall findings suggest that all the brain metabolite changes were not completely reversed in the hyperthyroid patients after antithyroid treatment, even after achieving euthyroidism.

Myopathy Associated with Treatment of Graves’ Disease

Here, we report a case of an increase in serum creatine kinase (CK) concentration in an 11-year-old girl being treated for Graves’ disease with antithyroid drugs (ATDs). The patient complained of myalgia two weeks after methimazole treatment. Triiodothyronine (T3) and free thyroxine (FT4) levels were normal, but the serum CK level was significantly elevated. After switching to propylthiouracil, the serum CK level decreased to normal, and the myalgia was resolved. The development of myopathy during the treatment of hyperthyroidism may be considered as an adverse reaction of MMI. In this report, we present a rare pediatric case, along with a discussion on the possible causes of myopathy that occurred during the treatment of Graves’ disease. A careful follow-up (serum CK levels and thyroid function) and treatment reassessment should always be considered after antithyroid treatment.

AB1027 EFFECTIVENESS OF SUBCUTANEOUS ANTI-INTERLEUCINE 6 TREATMENT IN PATIENTS WITH ACTIVE MODERATE-SEVERE GRAVES’ ORBITOPATHY REFRACTORY TO CONVENTIONAL THERAPY.

Background:Graves’ Orbitopathy (OG) is the main extrathyroid manifestation of Graves’ disease (GD). Up to 25% of patients have moderate-severe inflammatory activity with a risk of major sequelae. Intravenous (i.v.) glucocorticoids (GC) pulses are the standard therapy. In refractory cases, several classic and some biological immunosuppressantsare used, obtaining variable responses. Interleukin 6 (IL6) is involved in the pathogenesis of OG, which has justified the off-label treatment with Tocilizumab (TCZ)1, whose use by route i.v. has shown favorable results in published small case series and a single multicenter trial2.Objectives:To analyse the ocular effectiveness of anti-IL6 therapy used subcutaneously (s.c.) in patients with moderate-severe active refractory OG in usual clinical practice.Methods:Retrospective descriptive observational study of a series of cases of moderate-severe OG patients treated with anti-IL6 s.c. The patient medical records of those who had received at least 1 cycle of anti-IL6 treatment were reviewed (December 2013-December 2019). The primary effectiveness outcome was the change of the Clinical Activity Score (CAS). Favorable response was considered: reduction of CAS≥2 points together with obtaining inactivity (CAS <3). Demographic data, personal medical history, clinical aspects of GD, previous therapies and data on the use and safety of anti-IL6 were collected. The SPSS11 package was used for statistical analysis, using non-parametric tests for quantitative variables. The study was approved by the local Ethical Committee.Results:12 of the 15 patients (80%) were women with a mean of 50.27 years (21-72). 60% (n=9) had smoking history, 40% (n=6) active. 26.7% (n=4) were diabetic, all without retinopathy. 100% of patients received imidazole antithyroid treatment. 46.7% (n=7) required β-blockers and 20% (n=3) diuretics. 66.7% thyroidectomy (n=10) and 20% (n=3) decompressive eye surgery and/or blepharoplasty were performed. Thyroid and ocular radiotherapy were used in 2 patients. 3 patients received botox. 80% (n=12) of them had previously received GC. 93.3% (n=14) were naïve to biological therapy, only 1 patient previously used Rituximab. All except one patient who was treated with SRL received TCZ as IL6 therapy. A significant favorable response was obtained in 100% of the patients (p=0.008), decreasing CAS average from 4.9 (2-7) to 1.7 (0-2) at the end of the therapy [Figure 1]. The severity of the OG changed from being moderate in 72.7% of the patients to mild in 66.7% of the total. The median time to inactivity was 8 months (2-15). 73.3% (n=11) of the patients finished the treatment reaching inactive OG, the rest (although inactive) maintained therapy. After 6 months, 100% of those who completed the treatment remained inactive with average CAS of 1.3 (0-2). Smoking did not influence the response, nor any other variable collected. Adverse events appeared in 26.7% (n=4) of the cases, all of them mild and without widrawal.Conclusion:Treatment with anti-IL6 s.c. steadily decreases the clinical activity measured by CAS in patients with moderate-severe refractory OG, despite poor prognosis factors (such as smoking), with a good safety profile.References:[1]Taylor PN, Zhang L, Lee RWJ, Muller I, Ezra DG, Dayan CM, et al. New insights into the pathogenesis and nonsurgical management of Graves’ orbitopathy. Nat Rev Endocrinol. 2020 Feb;16(2):104-116.[2]Perez-Moreiras JV, Gomez-Reino JJ, Maneiro JR, Perez-Pampin E, Romo Lopez A, Rodríguez Álvarez FM, et al. Efficacy of Tocilizumab in Patients With Moderate-to-Severe Corticosteroid-Resistant Gravesˊ Orbitopathy: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Am J Ophthalmol. 2018;195:181–90.Disclosure of Interests:None declared

Assessment of Classifiers with Machine Learning based Thyroid Disease Prediction System

Most of the people in different nations are suffering from Thyroid related diseases and these are lifelong. Many people are unaware of having Thyroid related diseases. Main cause for this is due to improper functioning of Thyroid gland secreting Thyroid hormone which regulates body metabolism. In this paper we have made survey on classifiers like Decision Tree C4.5(J48), Multilayer Perceptron, Naïve Bayes by measuring TP Rate, FP Rate, Precision, Recall, F-Measure, MCC, ROC Area, PRC Area and developed a prediction system for Thyroid diseases. For training and testing the classifiers we have used Thyroid dataset from UCI repository. Dataset consists of 9172 records containing 29 attribute values and 1 diagnosis class value. The diagnosis class value consists of different types Thyroid disease conditions like hyperthyroid conditions, hypothyroid conditions, binding protein, general health, replacement therapy, antithyroid treatment and miscellaneous. The proposed prediction system model capable of predicting type of Thyroid disease whether a person is suffering or not.

The Increment of Choroidal Thickness in Euthyroid Graves’ Ophthalmopathy: Is It an Early Sign of Venous Congestion?

Objective. Clinical manifestations of Graves’ ophthalmopathy (GO) are caused by the overcompression of orbital tissues within the restricted orbital bone cavity. Impaired ocular blood flow may disrupt the retinal microstructure and functions. In this study, we aimed to investigate the macular and choroidal thickness changes in GO compared with healthy subjects. Materials and Methods. The study group comprised 50 adult patients with previously diagnosed Graves’ disease with ophthalmopathy who were on antithyroid treatment. For the assessment of GO activity, the VISA (vision, inflammation, strabismus, and appearance) inflammatory score was used. When euthyroidism was achieved without side effects, the patients were referred to the ophthalmology clinic for spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) evaluation. Results. Subfoveal, mean, and temporal choroidal thicknesses were increased significantly in the study group according to the controls. The mean choroidal thickness was elevated. Conclusions. This elevation is because of the intraorbital inflammation even in this nonsevere GO group. Choroidal thickness might be affected from the venous obstruction and congestion in patients with GO. The elevation of the choroidal thickness might be an early sign of venous congestion that occurs before the elevation of intraocular pressure.

Acute Kidney Injury Following Methimazole Initiation: A Case Report

Objective: Nephritis has been rarely associated with methimazole, primarily in the development of nephrotic syndrome. We describe a case of acute kidney injury without evidence of nephrotic syndrome following methimazole initiation. Methods: We present the relevant history, laboratory data, and nuclear medicine data and review relevant documentation from the literature. Results: A 72-year-old male recently diagnosed with new-onset atrial fibrillation was found to have suppressed thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels; elevated free T3, T4, and thyroid-stimulating immunoglobulin (TSI) levels; and a nonnodular thyroid gland with normal iodine uptake. He was diagnosed with Graves’ disease and treated with propylthiouracil (PTU) for 5 years. When his poor compliance with PTU was impeding his antithyroid treatment, he was converted to methimazole. Within 1 month following methimazole initiation, his serum creatinine (SCr) had risen to 1.6× baseline in the absence of other contributing nephrotoxins. SCr returned to baseline within 2 weeks of methimazole discontinuation, and the patient was subsequently managed on PTU. Conclusion: Acute kidney injury with or without the presence of nephrotic syndrome may occur during treatment with methimazole. Renal function should be closely monitored after the initiation of methimazole to prevent progressive renal dysfunction.