Can Antibiotics Cure Hashimoto's Disease?
Possible Bacterial Causes of Hashimoto's Thyroidism
Mar 10, 2009
In 2001 The journal Clinical Microbiology and Infection published a study that seemed to demonstrate a link between the bacteria Yersinia enterocolitica and Hashimoto’s disease.
From a total study group of 785 people, 71 had Hashimoto's disease, 250 had non-postinfectious rheumatic disorders and 464 were healthy. The study group were tested for class-specific antibodies to Yops Yersinia (plasmid-encoded outer proteins).
The prevalence of class-specific antibodies to Yops was 14 times higher (20 of 71; 28.2%) in people with Hashimoto's thyroiditis than in the two control groups. These results were confirmed by the Western blot, with 16 positive sera, three equivocal and one negative.
The study concluded that “There is strong clinical and seroepidemiologic evidence for an immunopathologic causative relationship between Yersinia enterocolitica infection and Hashimoto's thyroiditis.”(1)
This seemed to confirm an earlier study from Japan,(2) which also indicated an association between thyroid autoimmune disease and antibodies to Yersinia enterocolitica.
In 2003, Gorbach, Bartlette and Blacklow stated that antibody titers to serogroup O3 Yersinia enterocolitica were detected in up to 52% of patients with thyroid disorders in the US.
However, the disease has been linked with several different infections, including hepatitis C, EBV, and HTLV-1, as well as Yersinia enterocolitica.(3)
It has long been thought that autoimmune diseases such as Hashimoto's, Graves, rheumatoid arthritis, and others may be triggered by a viral or bacterial infection, and research continues.
How Would I Have Been Infected by Yersinia?
You can be exposed to Yersinia through contaminated meats, poultry, unpasteurized milk or cheese, or contaminated seafood. Infections typically cause fever, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. Right-sided pain is a predominant feature, and in the past the infection has been mistaken for appendicitis.
Should I Be Tested?
If you have Hashimoto’s disease you might ask to be tested for the presence and levels of Yersinia enterocolitica antibodies (which would show that you had this gastrointestinal infection in the past). If any level of bacterial persisted, it can be eradicated by antibiotics such as doxycycline. Third-generation cephalosporins are particularly effective against this anaerobic bacteria. Other treatments include TMP-SMX (trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole), aminioglycosides, imipenem, aztreonam and quinolones. In cases of penicillin allergy, a combination of ciprofloxacin plus metronidazole is effective.
Can I Be Cured of Hashimoto's by Antibiotics?
There is no recognized cure for Hashimoto's disease, although the drug Levothyroxine does slow down the disease, decreasing the size of any goitre and lowering antibodies – thereby lowering the level of autoimmune attack on the body.
Some autoimmune specialists consider antibiotics to be a possible part of a cure, such as those working on an ongoing study known as the Marshall Protocol.
Read more:
Hypothyrodism and the Adrenals
The Truth About Hashimoto's Disease
References
- “Prevalence of Yersinia plasmid-encoded outer protein (Yop) class-specific antibodies in patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis” ; S. Chatzipanagiotou, J. Legakis, F. Boufidou, V. Petroyianni, C.Nicolaou, Clinical Microbiology & Infection, Volume 7, Number 3, March 2001 , pp. 138-143(6); Blackwell Publishing
- “Incidences of antibodies to Yersinia enterocolitica: high incidence of serotype O5 in autoimmune thyroid diseases in Japan”; Asari S, Amino N, Horikawa M, Miyai K.; Central Laboratory for Clinical Investigation, Osaka University Medical School, Japan.
- “Association of Parvovirus B19 Infection and Hashimoto's Thyroiditis in Children”; Hartwig W. Lehmann, Nicola Lutterbüse, Annelie Plentz, Ilker Akkurt, Norbert Albers, Berthold P. Hauffa, Olaf Hiort, Eckhard Schoenau, Susanne Modrow. Viral Immunology. September 2008, 21(3): 379-384. doi:10.1089/vim.2008.0001.
