Susceptibility to autoimmune thyroiditis in Down's syndrome is associated with the major histocompatibility class II DQA 0301 allele

Abstract

In contrast to Hashimoto's thyroiditis and atrophic thyroiditis, there is a strong association between class II genotypes and hypothyroid autoimmune disease in Down's syndrome. This implies a role for a gene or genes on chromosome 21 in the development of autoimmune thyroid disease.