Spontaneous Remission From Primary Hypothyroidism

Abstract

Primary hypothyroidism in adults has been thought to be an end result of the destructive process of chronic thyroiditis, for which life-long replacement therapy with desiccated thyroid or its equivalent has been an accepted method of treatment. In a recent issue of this journal, Amino et al. (Annals of Internal Medicine 87 (1977) 155-159) described their experience with transient hypothyroidism, which they observed in 14 postpartum women. The authors report the case of a 24-year-old woman who spontaneously recovered from hypothyroidism accompanied by goiter which was not associated with pregnancy. Twenty-one months after she was first evaluated she remained euthyroid without goiter. Serum thyroid hormones and TSH were normal. (Permission to reproduce case report denied by publisher.)