Infantile Hypothyroidism Research Articles

Endemic infantile hypothyroidism in a severe endemic goitre area of central Africa.

Thyroid function and exposure to dietary goitrogenic factors (iodine deficiency and thiocyanate overload) were studied at birth and from birth to 7 years in 200 neonates and 347 children living in the severe endemic goitre area of Ubangi, Northern Zaire. Serum T4 was at the lower limit of normal at birth (104 +/- 4 nmol/l) and stayed at that level during the first year of life (123 +/- 9) (NS), but decreased to 75 +/- 8 (P less than 0.001) at 2-4 years and to 62 +/- 6 (P less than 0.001) at 5-7 years of age. Mean serum FT4 decreased from 10.4 +/- 0.9 pmol/l during the first year to 8.2 +/- 1.0 (NS) at 2-4 years (NS) and to 7.7 +/- 0.9 (P less than 0.05) at 5-7 years. Mean serum TSH was 10.4 (8.4-12.9) mU/l (geometric mean +/- 1 SEM) during the first year, 10.1 (7.5-13.7) (NS) at 2-4 years and 24.3 (18.5-31.9) (P less than 0.05) at 5-7 years. Mean serum T3 was 3.23 +/- 0.12 nmol/l during the first year and remained stable thereafter. The frequencies of low T4 (T4 less than 77 nmol/l), high TSH TSH (TSH greater than 50 mU/l), and low T4 and T3 (T3 less than 1.69 nmol/l) were twice as high at 5-7 years as in the first year (respectively 65%, 42% and 15%). The urinary iodide concentration of the children was stable and low throughout the study period. By contrast, serum thiocyanate concentration which was high at birth (129 +/- 5 mumol/l) decreased to normal values between 3 and 12 months of age and increased again during and after weaning (1 to 3 years of age) to reach a value of 138 mumol/l which was comparable to that observed in adults in the same area. Thiocyanate concentration was high (133 +/- 7 mumol/l) in the mothers' serum but low in the mothers' milk (57 +/- 3 mumol/l) (P less than 0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that both iodine deficiency and thiocyanate overload were explanatory factors of the serum levels of T4, FT4 and TSH in children. In conclusion, our results show that infantile hypothyroidism is much more frequent at 5-7 years of age than at birth or during the first year of life. The deterioration in thyroid function during and after weaning is linked to persistent iodine deficiency accompanied by an increase in thiocyanate overload. The variability in the age of onset, the severity, and the duration of infantile hypothyroidism might explain the wide range of psychomotor and physical abnormalities observed in a large proportion of subjects in this area.

EFFECTS OF NEONATAL SCREENING FOR HYPOTHYROIDISM: PREVENTION OF MENTAL RETARDATION BY TREATMENT BEFORE CLINICAL MANIFESTATIONS: New England Congenital Hypothyroidism Collaborative

Summary The goals of early treatment of infantile hypothyroidism made possible by neonatal screening are to prevent mental retardation and the more subtle neuropsychological handicaps of the disease. This report concerns only the effects on intellectual development. Stanford-Binet scores are available on 63 of 77 infants with hypothyroidism diagnosed by neonatal screening and treated at the age of 25±15 days—before the appearance of clinical manifestations. In addition, 4 infants were diagnosed on the day of birth because of gross clinical manifestations. These 4 infants, who were treated at 5-15 days of age, have intelligence quotients (IQs) of 110, 50, 64, and 76. The last patient has a twin with an IQ of 80. The mean Stanford-Binet results of 18 normal siblings and 39 euthyroid children who had low thyroxine but normal thyrotropin concentrations was 106±15. The 63 hypothyroid infants treated before recognisable clinical manifestations had a mean score of 106±16, with a normal distribution. Under the conditions ofthis study, the only factor apparently influencing the IQ results was adequacy of treatment in the first year of life. The normal mean and distribution of IQs in patients treated with thyroxine before the appearance of clinical features indicate that mental retardation is a result of thyroid deficiency and not a concomitant, and further that whatever protects the child from developing clinical signs of hypothyroidism in utero probably protects against mental retardation.

Triglyceride abnormality in infantile hypothyroidism.

Triglyceride metabolism was studied in a 14-month-old cretin boy. Prior to therapy, the child was found to have hypertriglyceridemia, hypercholesterolemia, and increased plasma pre-beta lipoproteins. An abnormality in lipoprotein lipase was suggested by low postheparin lipase activity (PHLA) in the child's plasma. With 13 weeks of therapy, the triglyceride level fell and the lipoprotein distribution and PHLA in fasting plasma became normal. By 20 weeks, all lipid measures were normal. After only five weeks of thyroid replacement and improved oral intake, a paradoxical increase in plasma triglyceride and appearance of chylomicrons occurred despite a marked increase in PHLA.

Effect of lactation and perchlorate on thiocyanate metabolism.

ARTICLESEffect of lactation and perchlorate on thiocyanate metabolismCF Funderburk, and L Van MiddlesworthCF Funderburk, and L Van MiddlesworthPublished Online:01 Dec 1967https://doi.org/10.1152/ajplegacy.1967.213.6.1371MoreSectionsPDF (1 MB)Download PDF ToolsExport citationAdd to favoritesGet permissionsTrack citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInWeChat Previous Back to Top Next Download PDF FiguresReferencesRelatedInformation Cited ByThiocyanate: a review and evaluation of the kinetics and the modes of action for thyroid hormone perturbations6 March 2017 | Critical Reviews in Toxicology, Vol. 47, No. 7Development of a PBPK model of thiocyanate in rats with an extrapolation to humans: A computational study to quantify the mechanism of action of thiocyanate kinetics in thyroidToxicology and Applied Pharmacology, Vol. 307Intake of Iodine and Perchlorate and Excretion in Human Milk17 September 2008 | Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 42, No. 21Temporal Patterns in Perchlorate, Thiocyanate, and Iodide Excretion in Human MilkEnvironmental Health Perspectives, Vol. 115, No. 2Maternal Thiocyanate and Thyroid Status during Breast-FeedingJournal of the American College of Nutrition, Vol. 23, No. 2Endemic juvenile hypothyroidism in a severe endemic goitre area of SudanClinical Endocrinology, Vol. 38, No. 1ENDEMIC INFANTILE HYPOTHYROIDISM IN A SEVERE ENDEMIC GOITRE AREA OF CENTRAL AFRICAClinical Endocrinology, Vol. 20, No. 3The excretion of sulfur compounds in the urine of newborn infantsMetabolism, Vol. 32, No. 7Accelerated fall in serum bromide level after administration of perchlorate to manEuropean Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, Vol. 16, No. 5Effects of 131I Thyroid Irradiation Damage, Thyroxine, and Thiocyanate on Radioiodine Metabolism in Dairy CowsJournal of Dairy Science, Vol. 52, No. 5TOXICITY OF A TRIMER OF MALONONITRILEThe Lancet, Vol. 292, No. 7570ATRAUMATIC ENDOTRACHEAL-TUBE VALVEThe Lancet, Vol. 292, No. 7570PSYCHIC AND PSYCHIATRICThe Lancet, Vol. 292, No. 7570 More from this issue > Volume 213Issue 6December 1967Pages 1371-1377 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 1967 by American Physiological Societyhttps://doi.org/10.1152/ajplegacy.1967.213.6.1371PubMed4294711History Published online 1 December 1967 Published in print 1 December 1967 Metrics

Action of thyroid hormones and cerebral development.

THE THYROID HORMONE has profound effects on the growth, development, and maturation of the nervous system. Infantile hypothyroidism results in retardation, not only of bodily growth, but also mental development. Eayrs and his associates1have made extensive studies of the influence of the thyroid hormone on the postnatal morphogenesis of the nervous system in the rat. Thyroidectomy at birth results in a paucity of axodendritic connections, primarily in the neuropil. The perikarya are small in size and more densely packed, and axons and dendrites in the interperikaryonal space are reduced in amount. Associated with these morphological changes are concomitant disturbances in the development of electrical and behavioral activities. The electroencephalograms of neonatally thyroidectomized rats remain low in amplitude, and the appearance of evoked responses is delayed. When it finally appears, the evoked response is characterized by an abnormally long latency and duration and a low amplitude. Innate behavioral

Infantile Hypothyroidism: Diagnosis and Treatment

Infantile Hypothyroidism: Diagnosis and Treatment