Autoimmune Thyroiditis in Childhood Review

In tro duc ti on Autoimmune thyroiditis (AIT) is the most common thyroid disorder in the pediatric age range. Both a goitrous (Hashimoto’s thyroiditis) and a nongoitrous (atrophic thyroiditis, also called primary myxedema) variant of AIT have been distinguished. In pediatrics, the most common age at presentation is adolescence, but the disease may occur at any time, rarely even in children under one year of age (1). In the past decade, the application of molecular biology has permitted an unparalleled insight into susceptibility genes that predispose to the development of AIT and into its complex immune pathophysiology. Approximately 70 % of disease risk is related to genetic susceptibility with environmental factors playing a role in triggering disease in susceptible individuals. In this brief review, current concepts about the immuno-pathogenesis and molecular genetics of AIT as well as putative environmenta