Autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome type 2

See also: Autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome type 1

Autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome type 2
Classification and external resources
Specialty
ICD-10	E31.0
ICD-9-CM	258.1
OMIM	269200
DiseasesDB	29690
eMedicine	med/1868
Patient UK	Autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome type 2
MeSH	D016884

Autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome type 2, a form of autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome also known as Schmidt's syndrome, or APS-II, is the most common form of the polyglandular failure syndromes. It is heterogeneous and has not been linked to one gene. Rather, patients are at a higher risk when they carry a particular human leukocyte antigen genotype (HLA-DQ2, HLA-DQ8 and HLA-DR4). APS-II affects women to a greater degree than men (75% of cases occur in women).

Features of this syndrome are:

• Addison's disease
• Primary hypothyroidism
• Graves' disease
• Pernicious anaemia
• Primary hypogonadism (less common)
• Diabetes mellitus (type 1)
• Vitiligo (less common)
• Coeliac disease
• Myasthenia gravis

Symptoms

Symptoms of Addison's disease and Hashimoto's thyroiditis include:

• Dry hair
• Nausea
• Abdominal Pain
• Frequent urination
• Vomiting
• Weight and muscle loss
• Salt cravings / salt wasting
• Anorexia and cachexia
• High pulse / weakened heart
• Low blood pressure
• Weakness
• Hypoglycemia
• Numbness in extremities
• Migraines / dysparunia
• Poor immune system response

Some researchers favour splitting this syndrome into three distinct syndromes (numbering 2, 3 and 4), but evidence for these distinct combinations is not convincing.

Eponym

It is named for Hermann Adolf Alexander Schmidt (1831 – 1894), an Estonian / Baltic-German Physiologist.