Antibodies in autoimmune thyroiditis affect glucose metabolism of anterior cingulate

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • M. Pilhatsch - , Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden (Author)
  • F. Schlagenhauf - , Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Author)
  • D. Silverman - , University of California at Los Angeles (Author)
  • S. Berman - , University of California at Los Angeles (Author)
  • E. D. London - , University of California at Los Angeles (Author)
  • D. Martinez - , University of California at Los Angeles (Author)
  • P. C. Whybrow - , University of California at Los Angeles (Author)
  • M. Bauer - , Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden (Author)

Abstract

Background: Hypothyroidism induced by an autoimmune process is associated with neuropsychiatric symptoms and metabolic abnormalities in the brain. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between autoimmune thyroiditis and regional brain function in hypothyroid patients. Methods: Cerebral glucose metabolism, as an index of brain function, was assessed in regional whole-brain analyses using positron emission tomography (PET) and [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose in thirteen hypothyroid patients with autoimmune thyroiditis suffering from neuropsychiatric symptoms. The primary biological measures were radioactivity in pre-selected brain regions, relative to whole-brain radioactivity, as a surrogate index of glucose metabolism, and serum levels of thyroglobulin (TG) and thyroid peroxidase (TPO) antibodies as endocrine markers of autoimmune thyroiditis. Results: Serum levels of anti-TG antibodies in hypothyroid patients were significantly correlated with glucose metabolism in the perigenual anterior cingulate cortex, a brain region previously shown to regulate affect and emotional homeostasis. Conclusion: Thyroid autoimmune processes may play an important role in the still poorly defined pathogenic correlates of disturbed function in brain regions critically involved in emotional processing in hypothyroid conditions.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)73-77
Number of pages5
JournalBrain, behavior, and immunity
Volume37
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2014
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMed 24365060
ORCID /0000-0002-2666-859X/work/149438765

Keywords

Keywords

  • Autoimmunity, Brain activity, Hypothyroidism, Neuropsychiatry, PET, Thyroid antibodies, Thyroiditis