Question

An immune disease in which the body destroys the ill-functioning of the thyroid gland, is called?

A) Cretinism
B) Myxoedema
C) Simmond’s disease
D) Hashimoto’s disease

Answer 1

Hint: Auto-immunity results in the diseases in which body destroys its own cells. This disease is an auto-immune disease. Auto-immune diseases result from the destruction of self-proteins, cells, and organs by auto-immune antibodies. In this disease antibodies attack thyroid cells. The immune system wrongly enlists disease-fighting agents that damage cells and lead to cell death.

Complete step-by-step answer:

 Hashimoto’s disease is also called Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. In this self-reactive Th1 cells and antibodies are formed against proteins of the thyroid gland. Antibodies are formed against thyroglobulin and thyroid peroxidase. These lead to inhibition of iodine uptake by the thyroid gland. This leads to goitre due to hypothyroidism.
Simmond’s disease is a chronic deficiency of function of the pituitary gland, a form of hyperpituitarism.
Hypothyroidism in adults results in myxedema, a hallmark of this disorder is oedema (accumulation of interstitial fluid) that causes the facial tissues to swell and look puffy. If a person has hypothyroidism from birth, a condition known as cretinism develops. Because adequate levels of thyroid hormone are essential for normal growth and CNS development, cretinism is characterized by dwarfism and mental retardation, as well as general symptoms of thyroid deficiency.

Therefore the correct answer is Option D.
Note: Autoimmune disorders are often categorized as either organ-specific or systemic, depending on whether they affect a single or multiple organ systems in the body. Another method of categorization involves the immune component that does the bulk of damage: T cells versus antibodies.