In some people with autoimmune thyroiditis, the immune system's attack on the thyroid gland can lead to either an overactive or underactive thyroid, depending on how much damage has occurred and at what stage.
Evidence from Studies
Supporting (3)
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Differential expression of connexin 43 in human autoimmune thyroid disease.
This study found that in people with autoimmune thyroid disease, the body’s immune attack can cause either too much or too little thyroid hormone, depending on how the damage happens — like a switch that turns the thyroid up or down.
Sometimes, the immune system can switch from attacking the thyroid and making it underactive to making it overactive—this rare switch shows that the same disease can cause either too little or too much thyroid hormone, depending on what the immune system is doing.
This study shows that the same immune attack on the thyroid can sometimes make it underactive (hypothyroidism) and later overactive (hyperthyroidism), depending on how the immune system changes over time.
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