MRI quantitative assessment of the effects of low-carbohydrate therapy on Hashimoto's thyroiditis

Objective: Hashimoto's thyroiditis is an inflammatory disease, and research suggests that a low-carbohydrate diet may have potential anti-inflammatory effects. This study aims to utilize Dixon-T2-weighted imaging (WI) sequence for semi-quantitative assessment of the impact of a low-carbohydrate diet on the degree of thyroid inflammation in patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis.

Methods: Forty patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis were recruited for this study and randomly divided into two groups: one with a normal diet and the other with a low-carbohydrate diet. Antibodies against thyroid peroxidase (TPOAb) and thyroglobulin (TgAb) were measured for all participants. Additionally, thyroid water content was semi-quantitatively measured using Dixon-T2WI. The same tests and measurements were repeated for all participants after six months.

Results: After six months of a low-carbohydrate diet, patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis showed a significant reduction in thyroid water content (94.84±1.57% vs. 93.07±2.05%, P < 0.05). Concurrently, a decrease was observed in levels of TPOAb and TgAb (TPOAb: 211.30 (92.63-614.62) vs. 89.45 (15.9-215.67); TgAb: 17.05 (1.47-81.64) vs. 4.1 (0.51-19.42), P < 0.05). In contrast, there were no significant differences in thyroid water content or TPOAb and TgAb levels for patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis following a normal diet after six months, P < 0.05.

Conclusion: Dixon-T2WI can quantitatively assess the degree of thyroid inflammation in patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Following a low-carbohydrate diet intervention, there is a significant reduction in thyroid water content and a decrease in levels of TPOAb and TgAb. These results suggest that a low-carbohydrate diet may help alleviate inflammation in patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis.