To explore whether lithium-induced hypothyroidism is related to an
exacerbation of underlying autoimmune processes such as thyroiditis, the
authors comprehensively assessed thyroid function in 16 manic- depressive
patients. Each of the three patients who showed detectable titers of
thyroid microsomal antibodies before treatment manifested a marked increase
in antibody titer from 4 to 12 months after lithium treatment was begun.
Thus, lithium-induced thyroid dysfunction may not only involve direct
effects on the thyroid itself but also involve exacerbation of an
underlying indolent autoimmune thyroiditis, possibly by causing shifts in T
lymphocyte subpopulations.Abstract Teaser