Thyroid stimulating hormone receptor (TSHR) plays a pivotal role in thyroid hormone metabolism. It is a major controller of thyroid cell function and growth. Mutations in TSHR may lead to several thyroid diseases, most commonly hyperthyroidism. Although its genetic and epigenetic alterations do not directly lead to carcinogenesis, it has a crucial role in tumor growth, which is initiated by sev...

Rare diseases are usually defined as entities affecting less than 1 person per 2,000. About 7,000 different rare entities are distinguished and, among them, rare diseases of the thyroid gland. Although not frequent, they can be found in the everyday practice of endocrinologists and should be considered in differential diagnosis. Rare non-neoplastic thyroid diseases will be discussed. Congenital...

Objective: The high incidence of non-organ specific autoantibodies in patients with mitral valve prolapse (MVP) may suggest an association between MVP and autoimmune diseases. A higher incidence of MVP in patients with chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis and Graves’ disease has been demonstrated in various studies. In particular, an increased incidence of MVP in patients with autoimmune thyroid dis...

OBJECTIVE To assess the iodine nutritional status and investigate the prevalence of thyroid diseases in a community population in Chengdu, China. METHODS Eighty school-age children were randomly selected for measurements of urinary iodine concentration. A total of 1500 residents over the age of 18 who had lived in Chengdu for more than 5 years were selected by stratified cluster sampling. Ser...