Chemical diversity of calcifications in thyroid and hypothetical link to disease

Abstract

International audienceEven though calcifications in thyroid nodules constitute a common finding in imaging and histopathology, and also may occur in both benign and malignant thyroid disease, their clinical importance remains unclear. A way to establish a possible relationship between their presence and the associated pathology may be given through a precise description of their chemical composition. In order to attain this goal, last generation Field Effect Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM) and classical Fourier Transform Infra Red (FT-IR) experiments have been performed on thyroid calcifications. Calcifications corresponding to different pathologies have been considered, including Graves' disease, papillary carcinoma or multinodular goiter. The complete set of experiments shows for the first time a chemical diversity of pathological calcifications but no correlation between the chemical composition of the pathological calcifications and the disease

Physicochemistry in medicine: some selected examples

“…Ubiquity of the PC PC may occur in various parts of the body, namely kidneys, 12-16 arteries, 50,51 breast, 52-54 gallbladder, 55,56 liver, 57 pancreas, 58,59 prostate, 60,61 saliva, 62 thyroid, 63 heart 64 and cartilage. [65][66][67][68] Calcifications may occur also on medical devices namely bioprosthetic heart valves, 69 mammary implants, 70 stents 71,72 and intraocular lens.…”

La place de la physicochimie en urologie et en néphrologie : le bilan de 10ans de collaboration entre physiciens, chimistes et praticiens hospitaliers

“…Cette relation entre les caractéristiques physicochimiques d'une calcification et la pathologie qui en est responsable a été définie initialement pour la lithiase. Elle s'esquisse désormais pour d'autres calcifications comme les concrétions prostatiques [13,14], les calcifications ectopiques mammaires [15], pancréatiques [16] ou encore thyroïdiennes [17]. Cette relation transcende ainsi la néphrologie et l'urologie pour coloniser d'autres disciplines médicales en abordant des problèmes de santé publique majeurs.…”

Birefringent crystals in thyroid fine‐needle aspiration cytology

“…However, they are strongly birefringent and are easily detected under polarized light microscopy . Based on their morphological and optical characteristics, these birefringent crystals are generally considered to represent COC, even though definitive testing is usually not performed on the crystals . While it is thought that the deposition of these crystals may be related to a decrease in the thyroid follicular functional state, the significance of the crystals in the thyroid gland remains unclear .…”

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6] Based on their morphological and optical characteristics, these birefringent crystals are generally considered to represent COC, even though definitive testing is usually not performed on the crystals. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] While it is thought that the deposition of these crystals may be related to a decrease in the thyroid follicular functional state, the significance of the crystals in the thyroid gland remains unclear. 1,7 As for oncocytic changes, they tend to increase with age.…”

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] While it is thought that the deposition of these crystals may be related to a decrease in the thyroid follicular functional state, the significance of the crystals in the thyroid gland remains unclear. 1,7 As for oncocytic changes, they tend to increase with age. Histologic studies have shown that birefringent crystals are present in a majority of benign thyroid specimens, with the prevalence ranging from 73 to 100%, and that birefringent crystals may be helpful to distinguish thyroid tissue from parathyroid glands, notably during frozen section.…”