The autoimmune thyroid diseases are members of the group of organ-specific autoimmune disorders that occur predominantly in women and may be associated in a single patient or in different members of an affected patient's family (Fig. 17.8). These disorders can be contrasted with the nonorgan-specific autoimmune disorders where antibodies arise to antigens that are not confined to a specific organ, as seen with the various antinuclear antibodies in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Occasionally, the organ-specific and nonorgan-specific diseases occur in a given patient: for example, a woman may rarely show Hashimoto's disease and also SLE.
