Anti Thyroperoxidase Antibody
Understanding Anti Thyroperoxidase Antibody
What is Anti Thyroperoxidase Antibody?
Thyroid peroxidase (TPO)antibody test measures anti thyroperoxidase antibodies in your blood. The body produces these antibodies when cells in your thyroid become damaged. These antibodies can be a sign of autoimmune diseases that cause the thyroid to make too much or little thyroid hormone.
Having antithyroid antibodies in your blood doesn’t automatically mean you have a thyroid disease. However, you may be at an increased risk for thyroid disease in the future. If your test is positive, it means that antibodies are present in your blood which could indicate that there is an autoimmune condition affecting your thyroid gland.
What is Anti Thyroperoxidase Antibody used for?
To diagnose autoimmune disorders of thyroid like Hashimoto's thyroiditis (swelling of thyroid gland resulting in decreased thyroid function), Grave's disease (overactive thyroid gland resulting in overproduction of thyroid hormones) or idiopathic myxedema (associated with low levels of thyroid hormones)
To differentiate between autoimmune disorders of thyroid from non-autoimmune disorders such as goiter or hypothyroidism.
To diagnose chronic thyroiditis
To diagnose subclinical hypothyroidism
What does Anti Thyroperoxidase Antibody measure?
TPO is also known as thyroid peroxidase or iodide peroxidase which is an enzyme mainly expressed in the thyroid gland. The thyroid gland is positioned at the lower part of the neck. TPO is found in the cells of the thyroid follicle where it helps in the production of the thyroid hormones. Its basic function is to oxidize iodide ions to form iodine atoms which assist in the production of thyroxine (T4) or triiodothyronine (T3), the thyroid hormones. TPO is an antigenic determinant of autoantibodies in diseases like autoimmune disorders of the thyroid. These antibodies are called as anti-TPO antibodies (anti-Thyroid peroxidase antibodies) which activates complement and might be associated with dysfunction of thyroid and its pathogenesis. To assess these antibodies, Anti-TPO antibody test is carried out.
Interpreting Anti Thyroperoxidase Antibody results
Interpretations
Positive tests may indicate the following:
- Hashimoto’s thyroiditis
- Grave’s disease
- Idiopathic Myxedema
- Postpartum thyroiditis
- Nontoxic Nodular Goiter
- Thyroid cancer
Answers to Patient Concerns & Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Anti Thyroperoxidase Antibody
Frequently Asked Questions about Anti Thyroperoxidase Antibody
Q. What is Hypothyroidism?
Q. Is there any risk associated with this test?
Q. Is there any special preparation required for the test?
Q. What is Thyroid Peroxidase?
Q. What is an autoimmune disorder?
Q. What are the risk factors for autoimmune disorders?
Q. What is Hashimoto’s thyroiditis?
Q. What is subclinical hypothyroidism?
Q. What additional tests can be performed in case the Anti TPO test results are not in the normal range?
Book a Anti Thyroperoxidase Antibody test at home near me
Other tests
