Comparison of two methods for the assessment of the levels of autoantibodies to thyroid tissue antigens

The levels of autoantibodies to total extract of the thyroid were assessed using passive hemagglutination test and of antibodies to thyroglobulin (TG) and thyrocyte microsomal fraction (TMF) by indirect solid-phase enzyme immunoassay in 62 adolescent girls with diffuse enlargement of the thyroid and autoimmune thyroiditis. The efficacies of the two methods were compared. Autoantibodies to thyroid tissue antigens were reliably better detected by enzyme immunoassay. The mean levels of autoantibodies to TG and TMF measured by enzyme immunoassay were reliably increased in patients with autoimmune thyroiditis, whereas in the group of adolescent girls with diffuse enlargement of the thyroid they did not differ from the norm.