Memory Loss and Thyroid Function

From Great Smokies Diagnostic Laboratories

Memory Loss and Thyroid Function
Every cell in the body, including cells in the brain, contains receptors for thyroid hormones. Thyroid hormones can stimulate and change the structure of particular regions of the brain, such as the hippocampus, the area primarily responsible for learning and memory.1,2 They also modulate enzymes that regulate the metabolic rate of brain cells.

Temporary memory loss is a classic symptom of hypothyroidism, a condition arising from inadequate production of hormones by the thyroid gland, or from decreased peripheral conversion of the thyroid hormone thyroxine (T4) into triiodothyronine (T3) in the kidney or the liver.

Fortunately, memory loss caused by thyroid hormone imbalances can often be effectively treated. As a recent case study illustrates, proper diagnostic testing is crucial, because memory loss may be the only symptom of thyroid insufficiency, and may occur without any other physical signs of thyroid imbalance.3

Even sublinical thyroid imbalances can affect mental ability. Evidence indicates that as levels of thyroid hormone thyroxine decrease, cognitive function generally declines.4 Researchers from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden found that levels of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) correlate with episodic memory performance in healthy men and women over the age of 75.5 They speculated that TSH may actually help the brain encode and store memory. Another study reported that memory loss was the only cognitive symptom of subclinical hypothyroidism in a group of female patients with goiter, and was effectively alleviated with thyroid hormone treatment.6

For these reasons, optimizing thyroid function is considered an important tool for anti-aging therapies designed to safeguard memory and cognitive function.7

Link

On GDSL thyroid assessment
http://web.archive.org/web/20060328012531/www.gsdl.com/home/assessments/thyroid/index.html

The company has changed its name to Genova Diagnostics and the site is
here.

Ultrasound Images of Thyroid Dysgenesis and More

Link
Osler didn't have this fancy technology; doctors should be able to tell if half of something isn't there by sight and touch.

ICD Codes for Thyroid Disorders

http://www.icd9data.com/2009/Volume1/240-279/240-246/
Thyroid disorders
http://www.icd9data.com/2009/Volume1/240-279/240-246/243/default.htm
Congenital hypothyroidism
Myxedema

Thyroid Dysgenesis

No type of human transformation is more distressing to look at than an aggravated case of cretinism. The stunted stature, the semi-bestial aspect, the blubber lips, retrousse nose sunken at the root, the wide open mouth, the lolling tongue, the small eyes half-closed with swollen lids, the stolid, expressionless face, the squat figure, the muddy dry skin, combine to make the picture of what has been termed the "pariah of nature." Not the magic wand of Prospero or the brave kiss of the daughter of Hippocrates ever effected such a change as that which we are now enabled to make in these unfortunate victims, doomed heretofore to live in hopeless imbecility, an unspeakable affliction to their parents and their relatives.
[Sir William Osler, 1897]

Remarkable progress in our therapy and knowledge of congenital hypothyroidism (CH) has been made since the demonstration by Murray in 1891 that thyroid extract could ameliorate many of the features of untreated cretinism, an advance described in dramatic detail in the above quotation from Sir William Osler. At this time, despite the striking improvement in the clinical features observed in affected patients, the associated developmental delay proved to be less amenable to therapy, and indeed some cognitive delay was thought to be inevitable. It was not until the 1970s that the importance of the timing of postnatal treatment in obviating the mental retardation was demonstrated convincingly. In a study by Klein et al. (1), 78% of infants with CH treated before 3 months of age but 0% treated after 6 months of age had an intelligence quotient (IQ) above 85, the mean IQ of the early treated group being 89, compared with an IQ of 54 in those treated late. Unfortunately, only one third of patients were recognized clinically within the first 3 months, and even fewer (10%) in the first month of life. The subsequent development by Dussault and Laberge (1A ) of a sensitive and specific RIA for the measurement of T4 in dried whole blood eluted from filter paper paved the way for the modern era of newborn screening for CH prior to the development of clinical manifestations.

Continues at Link

Embryology
Thyroid gland development and disease in children - PDF

Images of thyroid dysgenesis

Physical Diagnosis: A Lost Art?

Image: Sir Willam Osler at a patient's bedside

"The history and physical examination remain the backbone of medical evaluation and assessment. However, the many advances in both laboratory and imaging technology and the pace of modern medicine have resulted in the physical examination being abbreviated and undervalued, and viewed (subconsciously, perhaps) as redundant.

Although few studies examine physical diagnosis skills over successive generations of physicians, skill and familiarity with certain bedside maneuvers and confidence in eliciting physical signs appear to have declined, with increased dependence on the aid of a radiologist or first-tier laboratory data. The new student on the wards soon finds that skills at the computer in getting data back and arranging for tests to be done are valued as much or more than learning to percuss well or hear a pericardial friction rub. At times, it almost seems as if the patient in the bed is an icon for the real patient who exists in the computer, and 'rounds' (a word that in this context connotes motion) are conducted with the participants immobile and seated in a room and with the patient represented either on an index card or a PDA (personal digital assistant) screen."

Link


If your doctor is paying more attention to his gadgets and to test results than to you and what you tell him, maybe it's time to worry...

Veterinary: Hypothyroid in Canine Care

Veterinarians know that Hypothyroidism is a common disorder in dogs, particularly Japan's Akita.

Cats more often suffer from Hyperthyroidism.

Pets get proper physical workups and examinations, and are not automatically given Prozac.

People may not be so lucky.

http://www.provet.co.uk/health/diseases/hypothyroidism.htm

http://www.provet.co.uk/health/diseases/hypothyroidismclass.htm Classifications of Hypothyroidism

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+1597&aid=449

Townsend Letter: Adrenal Exhaustion and Chronic Fatigue

The outer part of the adrenal gland, the cortex, also makes many important hormones. These include:

* Cortisol. The adrenal glands increase their production of cortisol in response to stress. Cortisol raises the blood sugar and blood pressure levels and moderates immune function, in addition to playing numerous other roles. If the cortisol level is low, the person has fatigue, low blood pressure, hypoglycemia, poor immune function, an increased tendency to allergies and environmental sensitivity, and an inability to deal with stress.

* Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S). Although its mechanism of action is not clear, DHEA is the most abundant hormone produced by the adrenal cortex. If it is low, patients will feel poorly. Patients often feel dramatically better when their DHEA-S levels are brought to the mid-normal range for a twenty-nine-year-old. DHEA-S levels normally decline with age, and appear to drop prematurely in chronic fatigue patients.

* Aldosterone. This hormone helps to keep salt and water balanced in the body.

* Estrogen and testosterone. These hormones are produced in small but significant amounts by the adrenals as well as by the ovaries and testicles. Half of a woman's testosterone is produced in the adrenals.

Causes of Adrenal Insufficiency

About two-thirds of chronic fatigue patients appear to have underactive adrenal glands. One reason may be that the hypothalamus does not make enough corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), which is the brain's way of telling the adrenals that more cortisol is needed. Others may have autoimmune damage to their adrenals. I suspect that many people also have adrenal burnout. Dr. Hans Selye, one of the first doctors to research stress reactions, found that if an animal becomes severely overstressed, its adrenal glands bleed and develop signs of adrenal destruction before the animal finally dies from the stress.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0ISW/is_243/ai_109946562/

We can only wonder why the Canadian government has classified DHEA, a hormone necessary for life, in the same category as illegal bodybuilding steroids. Why physicians are not outraged about this, we don't know. But some doctors we have spoken with think that DHEA is a health food supplement. This is worrisome...