Press: Have you ever had a thyroid function test, or have you ever gotten an abnormal thyroid function test and felt confused, especially about the abnormal thyroid peroxidase antibodies (TPO-Ab) that have stumped you? This article is an attempt to help you understand TPO-Ab and the associated Hashimoto’s disease, so that those who are concerned about this issue can have a preliminary understanding and appreciation.
Thyroid peroxidase (TPO).
It can be understood as: an enzyme-like substance with some biological activity present in the body (not difficult to understand, it is good for the body), this enzyme is usually found in the thyroid gland (where is the thyroid gland? This enzyme is usually found in the thyroid gland (where is it? It’s under the laryngeal node, next to the trachea, in the shape of a butterfly) and its role is to help synthesize and secrete thyroid hormones (what is thyroxine? This hormone is involved in the body’s daily energy metabolism and maintains normal physiological functions.
Thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPO-Ab).
What are antibodies? What is “anti”, as the name implies, is to fight, resist, attack, is the opposite. Next, it is easy to understand what thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPO-Ab) is, which is a substance that fights or may destroy TPO. This substance can also be found in normal healthy physical examination laboratory tests, but its quantity is limited. In most cases it is not aggressive and manages to live peacefully and peacefully with other tissues and organs in the organism (including TPO).
Hashimoto’s disease.
When high levels of TPO-Ab are present in the blood, it often indicates the possible presence of some kind of thyroid disease, most commonly Hashimoto’s disease (a Japanese doctor named Hashimoto first discovered the disease, so it was named after him), followed by Graves’ disease, which are both autoimmune diseases. Because of certain triggers, such as family genetic susceptibility, viral infections, and colds, pregnancy, and childbirth, the body’s autoimmune balance is disturbed and dysfunctional, producing antibodies that mistakenly attack normal tissues, with no distinction between friend and foe. If this antibody attacks the thyroid tissue and cells, it causes thyroiditis and leads to impaired thyroid function. As a result of the innocent attack by the antibody, the body instinctively mobilizes its own immune defenders – lymphocytes to go to the thyroid tissue to accumulate and resist the invasion and destruction of TPO antibody, at this time, if you observe under the microscope At this time, if the thyroid cells are observed under a microscope, many lymphocytes will be found gathered around the damaged thyroid tissue. Therefore, Hashimoto’s disease is also known as chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis.
In general, TPO-Ab is not yet used as a routine test in clinical practice. Unless you are suspected or have been diagnosed with thyroid disease, your doctor may recommend a TPO-Ab test to help you find a possible cause for the onset of the disease.
In addition, for women of childbearing age, your doctor may recommend a TPO-Ab test if you are planning to become pregnant. This is because, according to available research data, some women with high TPO-Ab are at risk for fetal abortion, miscarriage or preterm delivery after pregnancy, although the chances of their occurrence are small. In addition, your doctor may recommend a TPO-Ab test in the second trimester of pregnancy, near the time of delivery, to help predict whether your child is at risk for hypothyroidism after birth.
In this sense, having Hashimoto’s disease (with or without hypothyroidism) does not affect women in their childbearing years who are expecting a baby. The only thing is that (unlike other women of childbearing age) you need to have your nail function checked regularly under the guidance of your doctor and to take the necessary preventive and curative measures at the right time. Therefore, you can go about your life and work without any worries.
It is reassuring to know that an elevated TPO-Ab does not necessarily lead to thyroid disease (including Hashimoto’s disease). However, it is important to understand that the presence of TPO-Ab may increase the risk of developing thyroid disease in the future. Therefore, if you have had abnormal TPO-Ab but normal thyroid function, your doctor may recommend regular checkups to monitor for future thyroid problems.
Treatment of Hashimoto’s disease.
You can live, study and work like a normal person, without medication, and enjoy your life to the fullest, without having to worry about whether your antibodies are high or low all day long.
2. If you have hyperthyroidism, you can use antithyroid drugs (methimazole or propylthioxypyrimethamine) at the same time and give small doses of levothyroxine sodium tablets (euthyroxine) as needed for treatment.
3.If the thyroid gland is enlarged and obvious and accompanied by pressure symptoms, consider short-term application of small doses of hormone therapy, and if necessary, surgery can be used.
4. If the thyroid gland is accompanied by nodules, it is best to review the ultrasound every 3-6 months to observe the changes.
5. If the disease progresses and hypothyroidism appears (generally TSH>10 is the threshold value for intervention, but it is not absolute, sometimes intervention is started when TSH>8, which needs to be decided with the specific target), it is necessary to start full dose replacement therapy with levothyroxine sodium tablets. The starting dose of this drug should be small and should not be given in one step, especially in older people. The dose of the drug is not constant, but needs to be adjusted dynamically, based on the results of the thyroid function tests. For post-surgical hypothyroidism, some people may need to take Eugenol for life.
6. So far, there is no medication that specifically targets TPO-Ab. To put it in another way, TPO-Ab is not yet the main indicator used by doctors to observe and evaluate the efficacy in clinical practice.
7, according to the literature, selenium yeast tablets (the drug can be bought) has the effect of regulating immune function, and can be used clinically at the discretion of the condition.
8, Chinese medicine focuses on overall regulation and has certain advantages for Hashimoto’s disease, especially in the unformed period of hypothyroidism, it can adjust the balance of the body’s immune function, and some people can reduce the antibody level after using Chinese medicine, but the individual difference of the efficacy is large. For those who have formed hypothyroidism, Chinese medicine can improve clinical discomfort while adjusting immune function, especially for those who still have many discomfort symptoms after normalizing their A function, Chinese medicine has obvious advantages. However, traditional Chinese medicine cannot replace or substitute the use of Eugenol.
9. Some studies suggest that emotional factors, especially negative emotions, such as anxiety, tension, depression, impatience and irritability, are related to the occurrence of this disease, which is in line with the theory of “seven emotions cause disease” in Chinese medicine (what are the “seven emotions”?). This is in line with the theory of “seven emotions cause disease” in Chinese medicine (what are the “seven emotions”?), which are happiness, anger, worry, thought, sadness, fear and fear. Therefore, learning to relieve work or life stress, soothing emotions, and maintaining an optimistic and cheerful state of mind in daily life can play a positive role in preventing the occurrence of this disease and helping recovery.
Note: The statements in this article about medication are mostly general treatment principles, and their actual application should be determined by the doctor according to the condition, and should not be simply copied.