Researchers Find Correlation Between All Types of Thyroid Disorders and Myasthenia Gravis

[pattismith]

Researchers Find Correlation Between All Types of Thyroid Disorders and Myasthenia Gravis
2017

...
A study that supported the correlation demonstrated that thyroid disorders occurred much more frequently in patients with MG than in people with other autoimmune conditions.

Researchers at Taipei Medical University Hospital hoped to come up with a definitive answer on a correlation.

There are three major types of autoimmune thyroid diseases. One is hyperthyroidism stemming from Graves’ disease. Another is hypothyroidism due to Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. And the third is euthyroid that stems from thyroid autoantibodies.

Researchers scoured Taiwanese Bureau National Health Insurance records from 2000 to 2002 to find patients with thyroid disorders and patients with myasthenia gravis. They found 520,628 people with thyroid conditions and 7,965 with MG.

A comparison of the records showed a significant association between the two kinds of disorders.

The correlation was highest for Graves’ disease, which is also known as diffuse toxic goiter: 4.37 percent of those with the disorder had myasthernia gravis.

Other correlations were nontoxic nodular goiter, 1.46 percent; simple goiter, 1.19 percent; chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis, 0.60 percent; thyroid cancer, 0.34 percent; and toxic nodular goiter, 0.25 percent.

In all of the associations, women had a significantly higher correlation rate than men.

Scientists use Q values to characterize the strength of an association between two diseases. A Q value of greater than 1 indicates a significant association between two disorders.

Researchers reported a Q value of 30 in men with chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis and MG.

Other Q values were thyrotoxicosis, 13.3; acquired hypothyroidism; 12.7, thyroid cancer, 12.4; and simple goiter, 12.2. All were considered high correlations.

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[pattismith]

There is interesting research showing that Atrial Fibrillation = beta1 adrenergic antibodies + M2 muscarinic antibodies + hyperthyroidism

in this study, they looked at the prevalence of these antibodies in Graves Disease:

"In patients with GD and AF, 45, 65, and 77 % were ELISA positive for β1AR, M2R, and β2AR autoantibodies, respectively.
In patients with GD and sinus rhythm, 17, 39, and 75 % were ELISA positive for β1AR, M2R, and β2AR autoantibodies, respectively.

β1AR and M2R autoantibodies were co-present in 39 % of patients with GD and AF compared to 14 % in GD with sinus rhythm (p = 0.026).

Patients with toxic multinodular goiter or subacute thyroiditis had a low prevalence of autoantibodies.

The mean β1AR and M2R autoantibody activity was elevated in both GD groups but higher in those with AF than those with sinus rhythm.

β2AR autoantibody activity was also increased in both groups.

In conclusion, β1AR, β2AR, and M2R autoantibodies were elevated in GD.
β1AR and M2R autoantibodies appear to be related to concurrent AF, while β2AR autoantibodies were equally prevalent in those with a sinus tachycardia and those with AF."