The study involved 147 women aged 31-47 with newly diagnosed AIT and hypothyroidism in the dynamics of replacement therapy with levothyroxine (before and after 6 months). The control group consisted of 63 conditionally healthy women, examined once at the beginning of the study. In peripheral blood serum, the concentrations of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-17A, RANKL, OPG, TSH and TPOAb were determined. It was found that the initially increased values (p<0,001) of IL-1β and IL-6 remained in patients after substitu- tion therapy at higher levels than in the control group (p<0,001). The tendency to an increase in the levels of IL-10 (p=0,056) and IL-17A (p=0,067) revealed at the beginning of therapy was leveled out (p>0,05) by the end of the ob- servation. TNF-α values did not significantly differ from those of the control group both at baseline and after 6 months (p=0,166 and p=0,184, respectively). The concentrations of IL-4 (p=0,376 and p=0,179, respectively), IL-8 (p=0,102 and p=0,116, respectively) and OPG (p=0,988 and p=0,661, respectively) remained at the level of the results of healthy women before and after treatment. RANKL concentrations before treatment were elevated (p=0,029), having lost their significant significance after therapy (p=0,096). The initially decreased values of the OPG/RANKL index (p=0,017) also did not differ on repeated examination from the indicators of the control group (p=0,253). After 6 months of taking levo- thyroxine in women with AIT, a significant (p<0,001) decrease in initially elevated TSH levels to the values characteris- tic of the control group was recorded against the background of a significant (p<0,001) increase in the concentrations of initially elevated autoimmune antibodies (p<0,001). When examining women with AIT and confirmed hypothyroidism, it was found that replacement therapy with levothyroxine for 6 months did not significantly affect the production of most of the studied cytokines against the back- ground of a decrease in the initially increased TSH values to the values of the control group and a significant increase in the initially increased TPOAb.

147 women aged 31-47 years with autoimmune thyroiditis were examined. The control group included 63 appar- ently healthy women of the same age without thyroid disease. Using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, serum levels of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interleukins (IL) -1β, -6, -8, -17A, receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappa β ligand (RANKL) and osteoprotegerin (OPG) were determined. The median, interquartile range and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient were calculated. The Mann-Whitney test was used to compare two independent samples. Autoimmune damage of the thyroid gland was characterized by a significant (p<0,001) increase in the levels of IL-1β and IL-6 against the background of a trend towards an increase of serum IL-17A concentration (p=0,067). At the same time, the values of TNF-α and IL-8 did not differ significantly from those of women in the control group (p=0,166 and p=0,102, respectively). Also, autoimmune thyroiditis in women was accompanied by a significant increase of RANKL concentration (p=0.029), while the OPG content remained at control levels (p=0,988). A regular decrease in the OPG/RANKL ratio was also recorded (p=0,017). The presence of a significant (p<0,05) positive relationship of IL-6 concentrations with TNF-α, IL-8, IL-17A and RANKL values, as well as between RANKL and IL-8 values was established. In addition, the concentration of RANKL was characterized by a direct correlation with the content of the anti-inflammatory mediator OPG. Attention is drawn to the revealed negative correlation between the OPG/RANKL index and IL-6 values. Autoimmune thyroiditis in women is characterized by a significant increase of serum levels of IL-1β, IL-6, RANKL and a decrease in the OPG/RANKL index, while the indices of IL-8, TNF-α and OPG production do not change signifi- cantly. For IL-6 concentrations, a positive correlation was established with the values of TNF-α, IL-8, IL-17 and nega- tive - with the OPG/RANKL ratio. RANKL values have a direct relationship with IL-6, IL-8 and OPG levels.

Despite the achievements of modern cardiology, the cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in most countries of the world remains high, which motivates the wider use of additional (alternative) preventive and therapeutic approaches, one of which is hypoxytherapy. Over several decades of using this method, a large amount of data has been accumulated that allows us to state the beneficial effect of various hypoxytherapy regimens on the clinical course of cardiovascular diseases and can potentially improve prognosis of them. The use of hypoxytherapy is associated with an improvement in blood pressure circadian rhythm, flow-dependent vasodilation, an insulin resistance decrease, a vascular wall stiffness redaction, an improvement in blood rheology, endothelial function and nitric oxide system, a decrease of proinflammatory and prothrombotic cytokines levels. A number of modern experts consider hypoxytherapy as an affordable and perspective method of prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease, effectively supporting traditional non-drug and drug-based approaches. Contemporary data indicate serious future perspectives for an expanded study of the hypoxytherapy possibilities in cardiac patients, including through the State research programmes. This review is devoted to the discussion of the physiological effects of hypoxytherapy, the possibilities of its application in cardiological practice, including with the analysis of own data, as well as precautions during its implementation.