No abstract

The purpose of the study was to measure the hepcidin concentration and evaluate Fe homeostasis indices in a prospective study on patients with newly diagnosed hypothyroidism in the course of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) and following successful therapy. The prospective observational study consisted of 34 patients. The clinical evaluation and laboratory tests were performed at diagnosis (T0) and after restoration of euthyreosis 12 weeks later (T1). The median level of hepcidin was significantly lower (p = 0.002) after recovery (7.7 [6.2–13.0] ng/mL) than that before treatment (17.4 [7.6–20.4] ng/mL), while creatinine (p = 0.011) and GFR (p < 0.001) significantly improved after euthyroidism was achieved. A positive correlation was observed between hepcidin and fT3 (p = 0.033, r = 0.465) at T0. In the females, the level of hepcidin positively correlated with ferritin concentration before (p < 0.001, r = 0.928) and after treatment (p < 0.001, r = 0.835). A statistically significant difference was observed in RDW-CV (red blood cell distribution width - coefficient of variation) between the hypothyroid and euthyroid states. In conclusion, a decrease in hepcidin concentration during the transition from the hypothyroid state to euthyroidism in patients with HT is associated with the observed dynamics in iron homeostasis, mainly reflected by improvement in RDW-CV and significant correlations between ferritin and hepcidin as well as between hepcidin and fT3.

Purpose. Hepcidin is an acute-phase protein involved also in regulation of iron homeostasis. The aim of the study was to prospectively assess for the first time the hepcidinEL concentration in patients with subacute thyroiditis (SAT), to identify biochemical determinants of hepcidinEL concentration and evaluate the potential role of hepcidin in SAT diagnosis and monitoring. Methods. Out of 40 patients with SAT initially recruited, restrictive inclusion criteria fulfilled 21 subjects aged 45±10 years and 21 healthy control subjects (CS). HepcidinEL concentration, thyroid status, and iron homeostasis were evaluated at SAT diagnosis and following therapy and compared with CS. Results. The median hepcidinEL concentration at SAT diagnosis is higher than that in CS (48.8 (15.9-74.5) ng/mL vs. 18.2 (10.2-23.3) ng/mL, p=0.009) and is significantly lower after treatment (4.0 (1.2-10.0) ng/mL, p=0.007) compared with CS. The ROC analysis for hepcidinEL at SAT diagnosis revealed that area under the curve (AUC) is 0.735 (p=0.009), and the cut-off for hepcidinEL concentration is 48.8 ng/mL (sensitivity 0.52 and specificity 0.95). HepcidinEL in SAT patients correlated with CRP (r=0.614, p=0.003), ferritin (r=0.815, p<0.001), and aTPO (r = -0.491, p=0.024). On multiple regression, the correlation between hepcidinEL and ferritin was confirmed (p<0.001). Conclusions. SAT is accompanied by a significant increase in hepcidin, which reflects an acute-phase inflammatory process. Parameters of iron homeostasis improved significantly while inflammatory indices got lower following recovery. The potential role of hepcidin as a predictive factor of the risk of SAT relapse needs to be assessed in studies on larger groups of SAT patients.

Ghrelin appears to be an essential factor in driving adrenal tumours development.

Subclinical hypothyroidism or high-normal levels of TSH did not affect RDW in a significant manner in the studied population. Our results demonstrates that overt hypothyroidism may contribute to deterioration of CHF reflected in changes of RDW value. < p > < /p >.