Lisker-Melman M, Di Bisceglie A M, Usala S J, Weintraub B, Murray L M, Hoofnagle J H
Liver Diseases Section, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.
Gastroenterology. 1992 Jun;102(6):2155-60. doi: 10.1016/0016-5085(92)90348-3.
Six of 237 (2.5%) patients with chronic viral hepatitis who were treated with recombinant interferon alfa developed thyroid disease while on treatment. Three patients developed hyperthyroidism, two of whom developed detectable levels of thyroid-stimulating immunoglobulin; three patients developed hypothyroidism in association with high titers of antithyroglobulin and/or antimicrosomal antibodies. The thyroid disease did not remit when interferon therapy was stopped, and all six patients required definitive therapy for the thyroid disease. These findings suggest that a small proportion of patients treated with interferon alfa develop autoimmune reactions and can develop autoimmune thyroid disease.
