ABSTRACT
The immune and endocrine systems are intrinsically linked by the neuroendocrine immunological loop (see Chapter 1, p. 55), and endocrine tissue and hormones may act as target autoantigens in immune-mediated endocrine disorders. The spectrum of autoimmune endocrine disease is greatest in man, where many clinically significant endocrinopathies are immune mediated (e.g. Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, Graves’ disease, Addison’s disease, type I diabetes mellitus). In contrast, welldefined autoimmune endocrine disease is uncommon in the dog and cat, with the single exception of canine hypothyroidism. This chapter describes those endocrinopathies of dogs and cats for which an immunological basis has been defined, or is proposed.
