[Recent progress in the diagnosis of thyroid diseases].

The diagnosis of thyroid diseases is mainly divided into three categories: morphological, functional and etiological diagnoses. Great progress has recently been seen in each field. For example, in the functional diagnosis, improvement of sensitivities and development of non-radioimmunoassays have been achieved in the measurement of hormone level. Especially, improvement of thyrotropin (TSH) measurement has greatly contributed to precise evaluation of thyroid function. In the etiological diagnosis, marked improvements have been made by genetic analyses. Mutations of genes of hormones, their receptors and other proteins related to thyroid function have been revealed as causes of various thyroid disorders, such as cretinism, hyperthyroidism and tumors. Immunological analyses also showed significant progress, i.e., improvement of anti-thyroglobulin and anti-thyroid peroxidase antibody measurements. It is also necessary for all three diagnostical approaches to be improved concomitantly in the future.