Symptoms Of Primary Biliary Cholangitis

Hypothyroidism

Individuals affected by primary biliary cholangitis can present with hypothyroidism. Thyroid hormones are critical for healthy organ development, growth, and function. The liver is responsible for metabolizing such hormones and regulating their endocrine effects systemically. When the liver is unable to perform its function of activating and deactivating thyroid hormones, the affected individual will present with hypothyroidism. An impairment of this hormone metabolism process over time results in the thyroid gland going into an adaptive hypothyroid state. Some primary biliary cholangitis patients have concurrent immune system abnormalities that can result in the immune system mistakenly attacking the cells of the thyroid gland. This immune attack on the gland causes the tissues that produce essential hormones to decay. When the thyroid gland is unable to produce an adequate amount of hormones for the body, the individual has hypothyroidism. Both of these mechanisms can occur independently of one another, or they may both simultaneously affect the thyroid function of an individual with primary biliary cholangitis.