Abstract
Most collagen diseases reportedly include two or three major collagen diseases.
Progressive systemic sclerosis is also known to be associated with S. L. E., polymyositis, Sjogren's syndrome or Hashimoto's thyroiditis.
We encountered a man who was diagnosed to be P. S. S. in about 1969. He was afflicted with the recurrent episodes of fever of unknown in origin at that time, yet experienced natural relief.
In 1976, swelling of the anterior neck suddenly developed. An open biopsy of the thyroid done immediately revealed Riedel's thyroiditis.
Since then he has been on steroids with thyroid extracts and the thyroid grand atrophied.
In 1978, another biopsy of the thyroid was done and here Hashimoto's thyroiditis was evident.
He lost a considerable amount of weight at this time.
Thus, Riedel's thyroiditis is probably the same entity as Hashimoto's thyroiditis.
It must have been one type (epithelial destruction) of Hashimoto's thyroiditis that was proposed by Woolner in the Mayo Clinic in 1959.
