Goitre Goitre A goitre, or goiter, is a swelling in the neck resulting from an enlarged thyroid gland. A goitre is associated with a thyroid that is not functioning properly. Worldwide, over 90% of goitre cases are caused by iodine deficiency. The term is from the Latin "gutturia", meaning throat. Most goitres are of a benign nature. A goitre, associated with hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism, may be present with symptoms of the underlying disorder. For hyperthyroidism, the most common symptoms are associated with adrenergic stimulation: tachycardia (increased heart rate), palpitations, nervousness, tremor, increased blood pressure and heat intolerance. Clinical manifestations are often
Complement deficiency Complement deficiency Complement deficiency is an immunodeficiency of absent or suboptimal functioning of one of the complement system proteins. Because there are redundancies in the immune system, many complement disorders are never diagnosed, some studies estimated that less than 10% are identified. "Hypocomplementemia" may be used more generally to refer to decreased complement levels while "secondary complement disorder" means decreased complement levels that are not directly due to a genetic cause but secondary to another medical condition. The following symptoms (signs) are consistent with complement deficiency in general: Vaccinations for encapsulated organisms (e.g., "Neisseria meningitidis" and "Streptococcus pneumoniae") is crucial