Maternal Autoimmunization to Thyroid as a Probable Cause of Athyrotic Cretinism

Abstract

IMMUNIZATION of animals with extracts of homologous thyroid glands produces circulating antithyroid antibodies. Frequently, lymphocytic infiltration and destruction of the animal's thyroid gland subsequently occurs.1 2 3 4 It is probable that the same phenomena — that is, autoimmunization and autodestruction — similarly contribute to the pathologic physiology of the thyroid gland in patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis and spontaneous myxedema, and possibly to that in patients with other types of thyroid disease.5 6 7 The current data and present concepts pertaining to the role of autoimmunization and autodestruction in thyroid disease have recently been reviewed by Blizzard and Chandler.8 These accumulated data support the thesis . . .