Abstract

Background: Colloid nodular goiter (CNG) is the most common disease of the thyroid, even in non-endemic regions, but an etiology of CNG is unclear. It is known that not only iodine (I) but other chemical elements (ChE) are involved in goitrogenesis. The present study was performed to clarify the preferential accumulation of some ChE either in the colloid or in cells of the thyroid gland.rnMethods: Twenty ChE (Al, B, Ba, Br, Ca, Cl, Cu, Fe, I, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Na, P, S, Si, Sr, V, and Zn) in the thyroid tissues with diagnosed CNG were prospectively evaluated in 16 patients with macro-follicular CNG and 13 patients with micro-follicular CNG. Control group included thyroid tissue samples from 105 healthy individuals. Measurements were performed using a combination of non-destructive instrumental neutron activation analysis with inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry. rnResults: It was found that with a goitrous transformation the Al, B, Br, Cl, Cu, Fe, I, Na, S, and Zn level in thyroid tissue can be significantly changed, and these changes depend on CNG histology. An association between I content and colloid volume, as well as between B level and cell volume of CNG was observedrnConclusions: There are considerable changes in ChE contents in the goitrous transformed tissue of thyroid, which depend on the histology of goiter.