Thyroid Antibodies During Pregnancy and in the Newborn*

The Thyroid Cytotoxic Autoantibody

“…Further, three mothers giving birth to healthy infants had cytotoxic antibody during pregnancy. Thus the hypothesis of placental transfer of cytotoxic antibody as a cause of cretinism receives no support from the present studies [see also Parker and Beierwaltes (25)], although it is conceivable that sensitized lymphocytes may occasionally overcome the placental barrier and destroy the fetal thyroid. shown to be a low-molecular weight y-globulin, further confirming its antibody nature.…”

The Occurrence of the 45,X Turner's Syndrome in Sisters

“…While it has been suggested that the incidence of thyroid autoantibodies is higher in relatives of patients with gonadal dysgenesis, they have not been shown to be present invariably in either the father or mother (29). In this regard it is of interest that Parker and Beierwaltes mentioned no subsequent congenital abnormality in the children of a group of 22 pregnant women who had thyroglobulin antibodies (30). Another, and again unproven, interpretation of this common association is that both the thyroid disease and phenotypic abnormalities follow from the same genetic aberration.…”

Thyroid Autoantibodies in Pregnancy: Their Role, Regulation and Clinical Relevance

“…The aggravation of thyrotoxicosis in the first part of pregnancy is probably secondary to the added effects of hCG which itself can cause gestational thyrotoxicosis [141–143]. In keeping with this scenario, TSHR-Abs reach their lowest point at the time of delivery [144, 145]. Hence, the dose of antithyroid drugs is rapidly decreased during pregnancy so that by the 3rd trimester a third of patients are taking none at all [145, 146].…”