Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Thyroid gland changes found in cats after death without thyroid
By Herbichi, Alana P et al.·Published in Journal of comparative pathology·2024·Programa de Pó, Brazil·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Thyroid lesions in a population of domestic cats submitted to necropsy without clinical suspicion of thyroid disease.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A study found that 13 out of 61 cats examined after death had enlarged thyroid glands, even though they showed no signs of thyroid disease while alive. Most of these cats had some form of thyroid changes, with many showing non-cancerous growths or inflammation. While these changes often don't cause noticeable symptoms, some cats may have had undetected thyroid issues. This highlights the need for thorough checks for thyroid problems in older cats, even if they seem healthy.
People also search for: cat thyroid disease symptoms · why is my cat's thyroid enlarged · hyperthyroidism in older cats
Abstract
Although hyperthyroidism is the most common endocrine disorder in elderly cats, systematic studies investigating the prevalence of thyroid lesions in feline animals are scarce. Our objective was to evaluate morphological changes in the thyroid glands of 61 cats submitted to necropsy without clinical suspicion of hyperthyroidism. Thirteen (13/61 [21.3%]) cats had thyroid enlargement and 54/61 (88.5%) had some histological thyroid changes. Proliferative lesions were histologically seen in 33/61 (54%) cats while non-proliferative lesions were observed in 48/61 (78.7%) cats. Thyroid hyperplasia (18/33 [54.5%]) and cystic adenoma (6/33 [18.2%]) were the most prevalent proliferative changes and lesions with little or no clinical significance (37/61 [60.6%]), degenerative (31/61 [50.8%]) and inflammatory changes (12/61 [19.7%]) were the most common non-proliferative changes. Among cats with proliferative lesions, 16/33 (48.4%) had a proliferation grade ≥A4, a grade previously associated with clinical hyperthyroidism. Although the cats from this study did not have any clinical diagnosis of thyroid disease, it is possible that one or more had some degree of clinically unnoticed thyroid dysfunction. The high prevalence of follicular lesions in this study highlights the importance of a more careful clinical and pathological investigation regarding thyroid diseases in mature and elderly cats.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39276725/