Prevalence of thyroid disorders and the correlation of thyroid profile with liver enzymes, serum activin-A and follistatin during the treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis C genotype 1 and 4
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Ahmed Mohammed Ashshi, Adel Galal El-Shemi, Adnan AlZanbagi, Bassem Refaat 1 *
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1 Laboratory Medicine Department Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences Umm Al-Qura University Makkah, PO Box 7607 KSA* Corresponding Author

Abstract

Objectives Chronic hepatitis C (CHC) and peg-interferon-α (Peg-INF-α) modulate serum activins and follistatin and are associated with thyroid disorders (TD).The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of CHC induced TD and to investigate the correlation of liver damage, serum activin-A and follistatin with the thyroid function parameters and thyroid autoantibodies.
Methods: The study was cross-sectional and sera were obtained from 132 patients with CHC who were divided into 3 groups: 56 patients with no treatment, 30 after 24 weeks of Peg-INF-α and 46 at the end of 48 weeks Peg-INF-α. Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), free thyroxin (FT4), thyroid antibodies (Tabs), serum activin-A and follistatin levels were measured using ELISA.
Results: Thyroid disorders were detected in 15% (n=20), more frequent in females (70%) and the majority were autoimmune thyroiditis (80%). TSH receptor antibodies (TSHR-Abs) were significantly prevalent compared to the other antibodies (p<0.05) and significantly increased in the 24 weeks group (p<0.05). TSH and FT4 correlated significantly with liver enzymes (p<0.05). There was no significant difference in activin-A and follistatin values between thyroid disorder and euthyroids. However, significant correlations were found between TSHR-Abs concentration with follistatin, activin-A and activin/follistatin ratio (p<0.05).
Conclusion: Thyroid disorders induced by CHC and/or Peg-INF-α were common in our patients, more prevalent in females and the majority are autoimmune. Additionally, activin-A and/or follistatin could be involved in the induction/aggravation of TSHR-Abs. Further studies are needed to confirm our findings and to explore the mechanisms by which CHC induces thyroid disorders.

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

J Clin Exp Invest, Volume 5, Issue 3, September 2014, 343-353

https://doi.org/10.5799/ahinjs.01.2014.03.0418

Publication date: 09 Sep 2014

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