Thyroid diseases members

In autoimmune thyroid diseases, a marked gender difference in prevalence is reported with a 5- to 10-fold excess in females (Manji et al., 2006 Rendl and Sailer, 2001). A significant family clustering of Graves disease or Hashimoto s thyroiditis was observed in 40—50% of patients, who reported another family member with thyroid disorders (Manji et al., 2006). 

Biochemical mechanism The most frequent cause of hyperthyroidism, Graves disease, is an autoimmune process in which thyroid hypersecretion is caused by circulating immunoglobulins that bind to the TSH receptor on the thyroid follicular cells and stimulate thyroid hormone production. The diagnosis is confirmed by increased thyroid stimulating IgG antibodies and is frequently seen in other family members. 

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