Gestational Prooxidant-Antioxidant Imbalance may be at Higher Risk for Postpartum Thyroid Disease

Thyroid hormones (THs) regulate many features of fetal development [1-29]. Also, the balance between antioxidants/ prooxidants is critical for the cellular homeostasis and for the development [30,5-10]. This protection might be facilitated by the maternofetal thyroid states [2,5,6,31,32]. Additionally, the defense mechanisms against free radical-induced oxidative stress involve [2,33] (1) preventative mechanisms; (2) repair mechanisms; (3) physical defences; and (4) antioxidant defenses. Alternatively, it was also stated that reactive oxygen species (ROS) may play critical roles in several developmental and physiological processes, however when being in excess ROS can cause oxidative damage [2,5,6].