OBJECTIVES: The impact of dental amalgam removal on the levels of anti- thyroid
peroxidase (anti-TPO) and anti-thyroglobulin (anti-Tg) antibodies was studied in
patients with autoimmune thyroiditis (AT) with and without mercury allergy.
METHODS: Thirty-nine patients with AT were tested by an optimized lymphocyte
proliferation test, MELISA® for allergy (hypersensitivity) to inorganic mercury.
Patients were divided into two groups: Group I (n = 12) with no hypersensitivity
to mercury and Group II (n = 27) with hypersensitivity to mercury. Amalgam
fillings were removed from the oral cavities of 15 patients with hyperensitivity
to mercury (Group IIA) and left in place in the remaining 12 patients (Group
IIB). The laboratory markers of AT, anti-TPO and anti-Tg autoantibodies were
determined in all groups at the beginning of the study and six months later.
RESULTS: Compared to levels at the beginning of the study, only patients with
mercury hypersensitivity who underwent amalgam replacement (Group IIA)
showed a significant decrease in the levels of both anti-Tg (p=0.001) and anti-TPO
(p=0.0007) autoantibodies. The levels of autoantibodies in patients with or without
mercury hypersensitivity (Group I and Group IIB) who did not replace amalgam
did not change.
CONCLUSION: Removal of mercury-containing dental amalgam in patients with
mercury hypersensitivity may contribute to successful treatment of autoimmune
thyroiditis.
