ABSTRACT
UNLABELLED: The relationships between different autoimmune diseases and among them the connections between systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and autoimmune thyroid diseases have been reported for a few years. The aim of this study is the assessment of the laboratory tests findings which are applied in the evaluation of the thyroid function and prolactin (PRL) concentration in serum in women with SLE during therapy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In 41 women with SLE treated in the period of a few months to several years the following laboratory tests were performed: the concentration of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), PRL and free triiodothyronine (fT3) and free thyroxine (fT4) levels were measured by chemiluminescence technique, anithyroid antibodies (anti-thyroperoxidase - anti-TPO, and anti-thyroglobulin - anti TG) were tested by immunofluorescence assay. The control group consisted of 17 healthy women of a similar age to the SLE patients. RESULTS: The levels of fT3 and fT4 were statistically significantly lower in SLE patients comparing to the controls but the arithmetic means for the whole investigated patients were within the range of laboratory limits for these hormones. Considering other parameters no statistical differences between the mean values were observed. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that fT3 and fT4 concentrations are lower in SLE treated women with small and mild disease activity compared to the controls with the mean arithmetic values for the total group of patients which is within the laboratory limits for these hormones. Furthermore, the results seem to support the tendency of connections between the detection of antithyroid antibodies with higher level of serum PRL in SLE treated patients.
