Study of Relationship Between Stool Lactobacillus Acidophilus and Grave’s Disease in a Sample of Egyptian Population

Abstract

Graves’ disease is an autoimmune disease that leads to a generalized overactivity of the entire thyroid gland (hyperthyroidism). When unrecognized, it impacts negatively on quality of life and poses serious risks of psychosis, tachyarrhythmia, and cardiac failure. It affects 0.5% of the population in the US and represents 50-80% of cases of hyperthyroidism. It occurs more commonly amongst women, smokers and patients with other autoimmune diseases or a family history of thyroid autoimmunity. About 50% of GD patients also have Graves’ orbitopathy (GO), an intractable disease in which expansion of the orbital contents causes diplopia, proptosis and even blindness. Murine models of GD/GO, developed in different centers, demonstrated significant variation in gut microbiota composition which correlated with TSHR-induced disease heterogeneity. The skin surface and mucous membranes in vertebrates are colonized by a high number of microorganisms, mainly bacteria, representing commensal microbiota. The gut microbiota consists of trillions of microorganisms representing many different species of known bacteria, as well as viruses.