Changes of Serum Ghrelin Levels in Children with Autoimmune Thyroid Disease

PAN Wei; MO Jiang-ping

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1002-3429.2017.11.024

Abstract：Objective To observe changes of serum ghrelin levels in children with autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD). Methods A total of 96 children with AITD were divided into hyperthyroidism group (n=50) and hypothyroidism group (n=46) according to thyroid function, and other 50 healthy children were selected as control group. Serum free triiodo-thyronine (FT3), free thyroxine (FT4), thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), thyrotrophin receptor antibody (TRAb) and ghrelin levels in hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism groups before treatment and at the time of taking medical examination in control group, and serum FT3, FT4, TSH, TRAb and ghrelin levels in hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism groups before treatment, after treatment for 4-6 weeks and after remission were observed and compared. Results Before treatment in hyper-thyroidism group, serum FT3, FT4 and TRAb levels were significantly higher, while serum TSH and ghrelin levels were signif-icantly lower than those before treatment in hypothyroidism group and at the time of taking medical (P<0. 05). Before treat-ment in hypothyroidism group, serum FT3 and FT4 levels were lower, while serum TSH, TRAb and ghrelin levels were higher than those at the time of taking medical examination in control group, and the differences were statistically significant ( P<0. 05 ) . Compared with those before treatment, after treatment for 4-6 weeks and after remission in hyperthyroidism group, ser-um FT3, FT4 and TRAb levels were decreased, while serum TSH and ghrelin levels were increased, and the differences were statistically significant excepted for TRAb level after treatment for 4-6 weeks (P<0. 05). In patients with hypothyroidism, se-rum FT3 and FT4 levels were increased, while serum TSH, TRAb and ghrelin levels were decreased, and the differences were statistically significant excepted for serum FT4 and TRAb levels after treatment for 4-6 weeks compared with those before treat-ment (P<0. 05). Compared with those after treatment for 4-6 weeks, in children with hyperthyroidism, serum FT3, FT4 and TRAb were significantly decreased, while serum TSH and ghrelin levels were significantly increased (P<0. 05);in children with hypothyroidism, serum FT3 and FT4 levels were significantly increased, while serum TSH, TRAb and ghrelin levels were significantly decreased (P<0. 05). Conclusion Serum ghrelin level can be used as an indicator for monitoring and evalua-ting the therapeutic efficacy of children with AITD.