Thyroid Nodules in Euthyroid Cats: A Matter of Age or Time?

Ferguson D.

Conference Proceedings, (2002). ACVIM: p.511-513

It has been said that If a person lives long enough, eventually a nodular goiter will develop. Adenomatous hyperplasia or nodular goiter in the cat Is similar to nodular goiter in man with a higher frequency amongst the elderly. Rapid autonomous growth may be a stable trait of cells generated during goitrogenesis, but these apparently newly acquired qualities may also be the simple consequence of the more rapid expansion of naturally occurring cell strains with Intrinsically short replication rates. A very differentiated function of thyroid tissue Involves Its ability to synthesize thyroglobulin and organify iodine to produce iodothyronines. This manuscript will examine the current state of knowledge about the pathogenesis of goitrogenesis, focusing on new basic science and clinical Information on the progression.