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Autoimmune Endocrinopathy

Meaning

Autoimmune endocrinopathy represents a category of endocrine disorders characterized by the body’s own immune system mistakenly attacking and damaging one or more hormone-producing glands. This immune-mediated destruction of glandular tissue leads to either an underproduction or, less commonly, an overproduction of the target hormones, resulting in systemic hormonal imbalance. Clinical examples include Type 1 diabetes mellitus affecting the pancreatic beta cells, Addison’s disease targeting the adrenal glands, and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis impacting the thyroid gland. The resulting hormonal deficiencies require careful clinical management through targeted hormone replacement therapy to restore physiological homeostasis.