Anti-thyroid peroxidase antibody in stroke localization: exordium doorway of preliminary findings in thyroidology?

Objective: Stroke is a chronic health problem that affects all areas of life. The presence of thyroid autoantibodies can augment the severity of stroke. The aim of this work is to investigate whether there is a relationship between the site of stroke involvement and the anti-thyroid peroxidase antibody (anti-TPO) or not. This is the first study in the English-language literature.

Methods: A total of 39 patients with a diagnosis of acute ischemic stroke were included, and the cases under 18 years of age with an infection and the ones with autoimmune diseases other than Hashimoto's thyroiditis were excluded from the study design. The patients' age, gender, smoking status, comorbid conditions, and stroke localization in brain imaging were recorded. The region involving the anterior circulation area originating from the internal carotid artery was evaluated as anterior, and the region possessing the vertebrobasilar circulation area from the vertebral arteries was considered posterior involvement. Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), triiodothyronine (T3), thyroxine (T4), triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), C-reactive protein (CRP), sedimentation, and anti-TPO were retrospectively analyzed.

Results: As a consequence, gender distribution, smoking, comorbid conditions, TSH, T3, T4, triglyceride, HDL, LDL, CRP, and sedimentation did not differ significantly, while the age of the posterior-located stroke was lower than that of the cases with the anterior. The anti-TPO value was significantly lower in posterior-located strokes than in the anterior system.

Conclusion: In summary, the anti-TPO value was recognized as higher in the anterior stroke localization. Thyroiditis and accompanying anti-TPO autoantibody positivity are conditions that should not be ignored by thyroidologists and thyroid-health providers.