Thyroid Antibodies: MedlinePlus Medical Test (2023)

FAQs

What should my thyroid antibodies level be? ›

Thyroid Antibody Test Results

Normal values are: Thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPOAb) test: Less than 9 IU/mL. Thyroid-stimulating immunoglobulin (TSI) test: Less than 1.75 IU/L. Thyroglobulin antibody (TgAb) test: Less than 4 IU/mL.

It is possible to test positive for thyroid antibodies without having thyroid disease. It is rarely useful to repeat measurements of TPOAb as their level does not influence the treatment given. Thyroid antibodies often remain in the body even after the thyroid disorder has been successfully treated.

When thyroid antibodies attack healthy thyroid cells, it can lead to an autoimmune disorder of the thyroid. These disorders can cause serious health problems if not treated.

Negative results mean that no antibodies against TPO, Tg, or TSH were found. You likely don't have a problem with your thyroid. If your results show antibodies against TPO or Tg, you may have Hashimoto thyroiditis. If your results show antibodies against TSH receptor, you may have Graves' disease.

If your TSH level falls under 0.5 mIU/L, this indicates that you have an overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism). Numbers above the normal range, usually 5.0 mIU/L or higher, show that you may have hypothyroidism.

The presence of TPO antibodies in your blood suggests that the cause of thyroid disease is an autoimmune disorder, such as Hashimoto's disease or Graves' disease. In autoimmune disorders, your immune system makes antibodies that mistakenly attack normal tissue.

Thyroid antibodies develop when your immune system mistakenly targets components of the thyroid gland or proteins. This autoimmune response, in which the immune system mistakenly damages tissues in the body, can lead to chronic thyroid inflammation, tissue damage, and/or disruption of thyroid function.

Anti-thyroid antibodies (ATA) tests, such as the microsomal antibody test (also known as thyroid peroxidase antibody test) and the anti-thyroglobulin antibody test, are commonly used to detect the presence of Hashimoto's thyroiditis.

Thyroid peroxidase antibodies (TPO): These antibodies can indicate: Hashimoto's disease, also called Hashimoto thyroiditis: It results in lack of thyroid hormones and is the most common cause of hypothyroidism.

What autoimmune disease has thyroid antibodies? ›

Hashimoto's thyroiditis can cause your thyroid to not make enough thyroid hormone. It is an autoimmune disease. It occurs when your body makes antibodies that attack the cells in your thyroid. Symptoms may include an enlarged thyroid gland (goiter), tiredness, weight gain, and muscle weakness.

What does it mean if TSH levels are normal? Sometimes, people test positive for TPO antibodies, but their TSH and T4 levels are still normal. What this means is you likely have Hashimoto's disease, but you do not have hypothyroidism. In this case, your thyroid gland is still functioning normally.

Studies show that taking 200 mcg of selenium per day may help reduce antithyroid peroxidase (TPO) antibodies and improve well-being in people with Hashimoto's thyroiditis ( 24 ). Zinc. Zinc is essential for thyroid function.

Occasionally, the thyroid stimulating antibodies do go away in patients treated with antithyroid drugs, resulting in remission of the Graves' disease and allowing for discontinuation of the medications. However, the thyroid stimulating antibodies may return causing the Graves disease to relapse.

If you have lots of antibodies against the thyroid stimulating hormone receptor, you may have Graves' disease. The higher your level of antibodies, the more likely that you have a thyroid disease caused by your immune system.

The main difference between Hashimoto's and hypothyroidism is the cause of each condition. Hashimoto's disease happens when your immune system attacks your thyroid gland. Hypothyroidism occurs when your thyroid is underactive and not producing enough thyroid hormone. And this can happen for many different reasons.

Symptoms of a Hashimoto's Flare-Up

Constipation. Dry skin. Puffy face. Muscle aches.

Too much iodine in the diet may function as a trigger among people already at risk for Hashimoto's disease. Radiation exposure. People exposed to excessive levels of environmental radiation are more prone to Hashimoto's disease.

One study of 102 patients with newly diagnosed autoimmune thyroid disease shows a significant reduction in TPO antibodies after three months of vitamin D supplementation.

Stress Exacerbates Autoimmune Thyroid Diseases

Stress can simultaneously suppress the release of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) from the pituitary gland, and decrease conversion to the more active form of thyroid hormone, triiodothyronine (T3).

What is the gold standard test for Hashimoto? ›

TSH test. Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) is produced by the pituitary gland. When the pituitary detects low thyroid hormones in the blood, it sends TSH to the thyroid to prompt an increase in thyroid hormone production. High TSH levels in the blood indicates hypothyroidism.

Hashimoto encephalopathy (HE) affects the brain and how the brain works. Symptoms of HE may include behavior changes, confusion, cognitive difficulty, and seizures. Psychosis, including visual hallucinations and paranoid delusions, has also been reported. HE occurs mainly in adults and affects females more than males.

Heavy Metals. While heavy metals are abundant in the environment, four specific heavy metals damage the thyroid the most. Those heavy metals are aluminum, cadmium, lead, and mercury.

The lymphocytic infiltration causes tissue damage and alters the function of the thyroid gland. The injury is caused when the autoantibodies and/or sensitized T cells react with the thyroid cells causing the inflammatory reaction and, in some cases, cell lysis (6).

Autoimmune thyroid diseases consist of two subgroups: autoimmune thyroiditis (AIT) and Graves' disease. The AIT is the most common human autoimmune disease.

Hashimoto's disease is an autoimmune disorder that can cause hypothyroidism, or underactive thyroid. Rarely, the disease can cause hyperthyroidism, or overactive thyroid. Thyroid hormones control how your body uses energy, so they affect nearly every organ in your body—even the way your heart beats.

Antithyroid medications are used to treat the symptoms of hypothyroidism and may be given together with levothyroxine to treat the symptoms of Hashimoto's. The most common anti-thyroid drug is methimazole, which treats Graves' disease and hyperthyroidism.

However, thyroid antibodies can remain in the body for years after treatment and cause a relapse. Generally, thyroid antibodies remain in the body in people with Hashimoto's thyroiditis but the antibody levels can fluctuate.

According to the Mayo Clinic, supplements such as calcium, iron, multivitamins containing iron, and antacids containing magnesium or aluminum can potentially have interactions with thyroid medications. They should be taken several hours before or after your thyroid medication to avoid an interaction.

Can high thyroid antibodies be reversed? ›

Unfortunately, there is no cure for Hashimoto's disease and no way to reverse the damage done to your thyroid gland, but it is a manageable condition.

The presence of TPO antibodies in your blood suggests that the cause of thyroid disease is an autoimmune disorder, such as Hashimoto's disease or Graves' disease. In autoimmune disorders, your immune system makes antibodies that mistakenly attack normal tissue.

Values above 9.0 IU/mL generally are associated with autoimmune thyroiditis, but elevations are also seen in other autoimmune diseases.

The normal range for the Anti-TPO test is 0 to 34 IU/mL. Anything above the normal range is considered high and may indicate autoimmune thyroid disease.

This condition is usually treated with synthetic or natural thyroid hormones. Synthetic ones include levothyroxine (Synthroid) and liothyronine (Cytomel), while natural ones include Armour Thyroid and Nature Throid.

What does it mean if TSH levels are normal? Sometimes, people test positive for TPO antibodies, but their TSH and T4 levels are still normal. What this means is you likely have Hashimoto's disease, but you do not have hypothyroidism. In this case, your thyroid gland is still functioning normally.

These antibodies are almost always high in 95% of patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis and 70% of those with Graves' disease. But even if you don't have symptoms of thyroid disease, you may also have TPO antibodies.

With Graves' disease, your immune system makes an antibody called thyroid-stimulating immunoglobulin (TSI) that attaches to your thyroid cells. TSI acts like thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), a hormone made in your pituitary gland that tells your thyroid how much thyroid hormone to make.

TSH receptor antibody (TRAb) is considered the gold standard diagnostic test for the autoimmunity of Graves' disease (GD), which is commonly diagnosed clinically.

In people with normal thyroid hormone levels, having high levels of anti-TPO antibodies in the blood can be a sign of increased risk of developing thyroid problems in the future. In short, it is useful to analyse anti-TPO antibody levels in the blood to: Detect Hashitomoto's thyroiditis.

Does high TPO antibodies always mean Hashimoto's? ›

High levels of TPO antibodies may be indicative of autoimmune thyroid disease. On their own, the presence of TPO antibodies does not necessarily mean hypothyroidism. Instead, Hashimoto's is the most common cause of hypothyroidism.

It has been shown that increased occurrence of thyroid autoantibodies is the result of iodine sufficiency or excessive iodine intake [3,4,5].