Soultati Aspasia S, Dourakis Spyridon P, Alexopoulou Alexandra, Deutsch Melanie, Archimandritis Athanasios J
2nd Department of Internal Medicine, University of Athens, Medical School, Hippokration General Hospital, 114 Vas Sofias Avenues, 28 Achaias st, Athens 115 23, Greece.
World J Gastroenterol. 2007 Feb 28;13(8):1292-4. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v13.i8.1292.
Classical interferon-alpha has been shown to be correlated with the development of a variety of autoimmune disorders. A 38 year-old female patient developed simultaneously diabetic ketoacidosis and hyperthyroidism 5 mo following initiation of treatment with pegylated interferon-alpha and ribavirin for chronic hepatitis C. High titers of glutamic acid decarboxylase, antinuclear and thyroid (thyroid peroxidase and thyroglobulin) antibodies were detected. Antiviral treatment was withdrawn and the patient was treated with insulin for insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and propranolol for hyperthyroidism. Twelve months after cessation of pegylated interferon-alpha therapy the patient was euthyroid without any medication but remained insulin-dependent.
