Thyroid Antibodies
ARL Pathology can also test thyroid antibodies – thyroglobulin and thyroid peroxidase. This can be added as an optional extra to the Thyroid Hormone Profile to provide a comprehensive assessment of thyroid function.
Patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis or Graves' disease, frequently develop antibodies against thyroglobulin. Thyroglobulin-specific antibodies help in the diagnosis of these diseases, but they may also be present in apparently healthy euthyroid individuals.
It is a frequent epitope of autoantibodies in autoimmune thyroid disease so the antibody titre can be used to assess disease activity in patients who have developed such antibodies. An epitope is the part of antigen that reacts with an antibody of a T cell receptor.
Thyroglobulin Antibodies
The presence of auto-antibodies against thyroglobulin indicates possible inflammation of the thyroid gland (Hashimoto's thyroiditis). High levels are found in Hashimoto's thyroiditis (85%), thyroid carcinoma (45%) and Grave's disease (30%). 1
Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies/TPO Ab
The presence of thyroid peroxidase antibodies is also indicative for autoimmune thyroid disorders. The enzyme thyroid peroxidase (TPO) appears to be the particular component of the microsomes that is directly targeted by the auto-antibodies which produce this illness. 1
They may be positive in Hashimoto's thyroiditis, idiopathic myxoedema and Grave's disease. Non-immune thyroid disorders show no greater than incidence than normal. 1
