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Hashimoto’s Disease National Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases Information Service What is Hashimoto’s thyroid hormone for the body’s needs. disease? Thyroid hormones regulate metabolism— the way the body uses energy—and affect Hashimoto’s disease, also called chronic nearly every organ in the body. Without lymphocytic thyroiditis or autoimmune enough thyroid hormone, many of the body’s thyroiditis, is an autoimmune disease. An functions slow down. Hashimoto’s disease is autoimmune disease is a disorder in which the most common cause of hypothyroidism the body’s immune system attacks the body’s in the United States.1 own cells and organs. Normally, the immune system protects the body from infection by Read more in Hypothyroidism at identifying and destroying bacteria, viruses, . and other potentially harmful foreign substances. What is the thyroid? In Hashimoto’s disease, the immune The thyroid is a 2-inch-long, butterfly-shaped system attacks the thyroid gland, causing gland weighing less than 1 ounce. Located inflammation and interfering with its in the front of the neck below the larynx, or ability to produce thyroid hormones. voice box, it has two lobes, one on either side Large numbers of white blood cells c