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Coeliac Disease Associated with Auto-Immune Thyroiditis, Sjogren's Syndrome, and a Lymphocytotoxic Serum Factor§

1972; Wiley; Volume: 2; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/j.1445-5994.1972.tb03946.x

0004-8291

B. P. Maclaurin, N Matthews, J. A. Kilpatrick,

Diabetes and associated disorders

Summary: This report describes a patient who presented with an exacerbation of coeliac disease symptoms, following initiation of treatment for an auto-immune thyroiditis. She also had recently developed symptoms and signs of keratoconjunctivitis sicca and xerostomia. She was found to have a lymphocytotoxic serum factor having some but not all of the characteristics of an auto-antibody and this factor completely prevented phytohaemagglutinin and allogeneic stimulation of her lymphocytes in vitro. Her serum contained multiple, thyroid-specific, auto-antibodies coexisting with a general lowering of the main immunoglobulin classes. Treatment with a gluten-free diet produced improvement of both her coeliac and Sjogren's syndrome symptoms and signs and the lymphotoxic factor disappeared from her serum. The nature and significance of this factor is discussed, with particular emphasis upon relationship to lymphokines and to tumour incidence in coeliac disease.