ABSTRACT
CONTEXT: Patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) have an increased risk of autoimmune thyroiditis (AIT). OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to determine whether levothyroxine (l-T(4)) treatment prevents the clinical manifestation of AIT in euthyroid subjects with T1D. DESIGN AND SETTING: We conducted a prospective, randomized, open, controlled clinical trial at six tertiary care centers for pediatric endocrinology and diabetes. PATIENTS: Of 611 children and adolescents with T1D, 89 individuals (14.5%) were identified with positive thyroid peroxidase antibodies (TPOAb), thyroglobulin antibodies (TgAb), or both. Of these, 30 patients (age, 13.3 +/- 2.1 yr) met the inclusion criteria and were randomized to receive l-T(4) (n = 16 patients) or no treatment (n = 14 patients). INTERVENTION: l-T(4) (1.3 microg/kg daily) was given for 24 months in the treatment group, followed by an additional observation period of 6 months in both groups. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Thyroid gland volume (as determined by ultrasound), serum levels of TSH, thyroid hormones, TPOAb, and TgAb were assessed every 6 months for 30 months. RESULTS: Mean thyroid volume decreased in the treatment group after 24 months (-0.60 sd score) and increased in the observation group (+ 1.11 sd score; P = 0.0218). Serum thyrotropin, free T(4), TPOAb, and TgAb levels were not significantly different in both groups during the entire study period. Hypothyroidism developed in three individuals treated with l-T(4) and in four untreated patients (conversion rate, 9.3% per year). CONCLUSIONS: In this study in euthyroid patients with AIT and T1D, l-T(4) treatment reduced thyroid volume but had no effect on thyroid function and serum autoantibody levels.
Subject(s)
Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1/drug therapy , Thyroiditis, Autoimmune/drug therapy , Thyroxine/therapeutic use , Adolescent , Autoantibodies/analysis , Child , Child, Preschool , Diabetes Complications/drug therapy , Female , Humans , Infant , Iodide Peroxidase/immunology , Male , Prospective Studies , Thyroglobulin/immunology , Thyroid Gland/pathology , Thyroid Hormones/blood , Thyroiditis, Autoimmune/complications , Thyroiditis, Autoimmune/pathology , Thyrotropin/bloodABSTRACT
RATIONALE: We report on a cerebral infection by Pseudallescheria boydii in a 21-month-old boy after a near-drowning episode. MRI revealed multiple (> 60) intracerebral abscesses. METHODS: The surgical therapy included CSF drainage and microsurgical resection of one abscess for microbiological diagnosis. Antimycotic therapy included terbinafine and intraventricular caspofungin in addition to voriconazole. RESULTS: Systemic side effects of chemotherapy were not observed. After placement of a ventriculoperitoneal shunt, the boy was transferred to a rehabilitation clinic and improved neurologically. After 20 months, MRI documented a continuing remission of the disease. CONCLUSION: Our case proves that an aggressive treatment should be undertaken and can be successful in CNS pseudallescheriasis.
Subject(s)
Brain Abscess/therapy , Encephalomyelitis/complications , Encephalomyelitis/therapy , Mycetoma/etiology , Near Drowning , Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use , Brain Abscess/complications , Brain Abscess/microbiology , Humans , Infant , Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods , Male , Neurosurgery/methods , PseudallescheriaABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To investigate thyroid autoimmunity in a very large nationwide cohort of children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Data were analyzed from 17,749 patients with type 1 diabetes aged 0.1-20 years who were treated in 118 pediatric diabetes centers in Germany and Austria. Antibodies to thyroglobulin (anti-TG) and thyroperoxidase (anti-TPO) were measured and documented at least once in 7,097 patients. A total of 49.5% of these patients were boys, the mean age was 12.4 years (range 0.3-20.0 years), and the mean duration of diabetes was 4.5 years (range 0.0-19.5 years). A titer exceeding 100 units/ml or 1:100 was considered significantly elevated. RESULTS: In 1,530 patients, thyroid antibody levels were elevated on at least one occasion, whereas 5,567 were antibody-negative during the observation period. Patients with thyroid antibodies were significantly older (P < 0.001), had a longer duration of diabetes (P < 0.001), and developed diabetes later in life (P < 0.001) than those without antibodies. A total of 63% of patients with positive antibodies were girls, compared with 45% of patients without antibodies (P < 0.001). The prevalence of significant thyroid antibody titers increased with increasing age; the highest prevalence was in the 15- to 20-year age group (anti-TPO: 16.9%, P < 0.001; anti-TG: 12.8%, P < 0.001). Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels were higher in patients with thyroid autoimmunity (3.34 microU/ml, range 0.0-615.0 microU/ml) than in control subjects (1.84 microU/ml, range 0.0-149.0 microU/ml) (P < 0.001). Even higher TSH levels were observed in patients with both anti-TPO and anti-TG (4.55 microU/ml, range 0.0-197.0 microU/ml). CONCLUSIONS: Thyroid autoimmunity seems to be particularly common in girls with diabetes during the second decade of life and may be associated with elevated TSH levels, indicating subclinical hypothyroidism.