Diffuse lipomatosis of the thyroid with amyloid deposition.

BACKGROUND

The authors present a case of diffuse fatty infiltration of the thyroid gland with coexistent deposition of amyloid protein.

METHOD: A case history and brief literature review concerning amyloid goitre and fatty infiltration of the thyroid are presented, and the relationship between these two phenomena is discussed.

RESULTS

A patient with AA amyloidosis presented with a slowly enlarging goitre, which on histological examination was extensively infiltrated with adipose tissue. Amyloid protein was found on Congo red staining.

CONCLUSION

To our best knowledge, this patient represents the first reported case of diffuse lipomatosis of the thyroid gland causing goitre in a patient with AA amyloidosis. The presence of amyloid protein within the thyroid was not sufficient to cause enlargement per se, and was therefore of unclear significance. Together with previous reports of the concurrent deposition of amyloid and fat, this case raises questions as to the relationship between these two phenomena.