Increased risk of autoimmune thyroid disease in hepatitis C vs hepatitis B before, during, and after discontinuing interferon therapy.

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Abstract
A HIGH PREVALENCE of thyroid gland dysfunction and/or antithyroid antibodies has been reported in patients with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) before1-3 or after4-7 therapy with interferon, and some data also show a high prevalence of anti-HCV antibodies in patients with autoimmune thyroiditis, suggesting that this condition could be induced by HCV infection.8,9 However, in most reports, no comparison has been made between chronic HCV infection and the other known types of chronic viral hepatitis (hepatitis B [HBV] and D). Therapy with interferon has important effects on the cell-mediated immune system as well as on many other immune mechanisms, such as the expression of major histocompatibility antigens10 and the regulation of cytokine production.11 Despite this broad range of immunological effects, the role of interferon alfa (IFN-α) in the pathogenesis of autoimmune thyroid disease remains uncertain. Autoimmune phenomena against the thyroid gland in patients with HBV infection are not well understood. We hypothesized that therapy with interferon may play a role in the development of autoimmune thyroid disease in patients with HBV in a manner similar to that which occurs in patients with HCV.