Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine the frequencies of abnormal thyroid function tests and serum thyroid autoantibodies in healthy Kuwaitis and those with autoimmune diseases. Subjects and Methods: Serum concentrations of sensitive thyrotropin, and free thyroxine were measured in 577 apparently healthy controls, 177 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), 60 with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and 25 with primary Sjogren’s syndrome (pSS) using the immunochemiluminescent assay method on IMMULITE 1000. Serum microsomal and thyroglobulin autoantibodies were also measured by passive hemagglutination assay. For analysis of the thyroid function tests, the subjects were classified into five categories: normal, subclinical hypothyroidism, overt hypothyroidism, euthyroid sick syndrome and biochemical hyperthyroidism. Results: Subclinical hypothyroidism was seen in 1.7% of healthy controls, 10.2% of RA, 13.3% of SLE, and 16% of pSS patients. Among RA patients, the frequency of subclinical hypothyroidism in females (11.4%) was significantly higher than among males (5.4%; p < 0.01). In SLE and pSS patients, all those with subclinical hypothyroidism were females. Overt hypothyroidism was seen in 1.4% of controls, 10.2% of RA, 8.3% of SLE, and 4% of pSS patients. Biochemical hyperthyroidism was seen in 0.2% of controls, 4.5% of RA, 5% of SLE and none of pSS patients. The euthyroid sick syndrome was seen in 0.4% of controls, 13.6% of RA, 16.7% of SLE and in none of pSS patients. Thyroid autoantibodies were present in 3.1% of controls, 12.4% of RA, 18.3% of SLE, and 12% of pSS patients. Conclusion: Our data show that abnormal thyroid function tests and thyroid autoantibodies occur frequently in Ku-waitis with autoimmune diseases. Therefore, ordering these tests in these diseases is recommended.

(18)F-DOPA PET/CT enables early diagnosis of a significant number of patients with distant metastasis. It has a limited sensitivity in the detection of residual disease but provides high performance for regional analysis. A surgical compartment-oriented approach could be the approach of choice whatever the number of nodes revealed by (18)F-DOPA PET/CT.

Objective: While radioiodine therapy is commonly used for treating Graves' disease, a prolonged and clinical hypothyroidism may result in disabling symptoms leading to deterioration of quality of life (QoL) of patients. Introducing levothyroxine (LT 4 ) treatment in the early post-therapeutic period may be an interesting approach to limit this phenomenon. Methods: A multicenter, prospective, open-label randomized controlled trial enrolled 94 patients with Graves' hyperthyroidism randomly assigned to the experimental group (nZ46) (group A: early prophylactic LT 4 treatment) or the control group (nZ48) (group B: standard follow-up). The primary endpoint was the 6-month QoL. The secondary endpoints were other QoL scores such as Graves' ophthalmopathy (GO) outcomes, thyroid function tests and safety. Results: The primary endpoint at 6 months was achieved: the mental composite score (MCS) of Short Form 36 (SF-36) was significantly higher in group A compared to group B (PZ0.009). Four other dimension scores of the SF-36 and four dimension scores of the thyroid-specific patient-reported outcome (ThyPRO) significantly differed between the two groups, indicating better QoL in group A. After adjustment for variables, the early LT 4 administration strategy was found as an independent factor for only two scores of SF-36: the MCS and the general health (GH) score. There were no differences in GO, final thyroid status and changes in the anti-TSH receptor antibodies (TRAbs) levels between the two groups. No adverse cardiovascular event was reported. Conclusion: Early LT 4 administration post-radioactive iodine (RAI) could represent a safe potential benefit for patients with regard to QoL. The optimal strategy taking into account administered RAI activities and LT 4 treatment dosage and timing remains to be determined.

Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are associated with variable prognosis, with grade 1 and 2 NETs having a more favorable outcome than G3 ones (also called carcinoma). GEP-NET patients need highly individualized interdisciplinary evaluations and treatment. New treatment options have become available (i.e., sunitinib, mTOR inhibitors) with significant improvements in progression-free survival. Peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) using 90Y or 177Lu-labeled somatostatin analogs has also shown promise in the treatment of advanced progressive NETs but randomized clinical trials comparing with other modalities are still lacking. SST-targeting represents the essence of theranostics. 68Ga-DOTA-SSTa can be used as companion imaging agents to assist in such a radionuclide therapy selection. 68Ga-DOTA-SSTa PET/CT might also provide critical information for prognosis, tumor response assessement to PRRT, and internal dosimetry. It is also expected that the development of novel receptor-targeting radiopharmaceuticals will contribute to the development of molecular-based personalized medicine approaches.

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