Читать книгу The Healthy Thyroid: What you can do to prevent and alleviate thyroid imbalance - Patsy Westcott - Страница 36

Another way in which the immune system can go awry is when an invader triggers an overzealous immune response, unleashing a flood of cell proteins called cytokines; these cause inflammation and increase the production of antibodies, which turn against the tissue in question and destroy it.

Both Graves’ disease and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis are caused by T and B cells that infiltrate the thyroid, triggering inflammation and the production of thyroid autoantibodies. Depending on which autoantibodies are produced, this will lead to either overproduction or underproduction of thyroid hormone.

Autoantibodies can attack virtually any of the body’s tissues or organs and not just the thyroid, causing a range of diseases in which the tissues become inflamed and are gradually destroyed. These include rheumatoid arthritis, where autoantibodies destroy the joints; Addison’s disease, where autoantibodies damage the adrenals; multiple sclerosis, where autoantibodies are directed against the nervous system; and diabetes, where autoantibodies turn against the pancreas.

It is now established that all of us possess autoimmunity to some degree but, in some people, the immune system seems to have a particular tendency to turn against itself. This might explain why having one autoimmune disorder can put you at an increased risk of developing another. It may also be why, if you have developed an autoimmune thyroid disorder, it is important to be on the look-out for other autoimmune problems.

Three-quarters of cases of autoimmune disease occur in women. What exactly triggers the immune system in women to attack itself more frequently than in men?