Congenital Hypothyroidism - An Endocrine Disorder Affecting Newborns

Congenital hypothyroidism is said to be an odd endocrine infection of the thyroid gland which affects almost 1 out of 4,000 infants. This endocrine infection is a minute butterfly like gland that is positioned in the anterior neck. This infection produces thyroid hormones to control the mental and physical growth of the body. When this infection occurs in infants it does not produce sufficient level of thyroid hormones. Triiodothyronine or T3 and Thyroxine or T4 are usually covered by the thyroid glands. In fact thyroid hormones have various effects on metabolism which affects most of the body's organ system.

The emission of thyroid hormones is encouraged by TSH which is emitted from the pituitary glands which in turn is emitted in response to the TRH which is emitted by hypothalamus. Hypothyroidism in the infants may result from the lack of or due to the abnormal growth of thyroid glands, failure of encouragement of thyroids by pituitary, defective synthesis of thyroid hormones and destruction of thyroid glands.

Causes of Congenital Hypothyroidism

Most of the congenital hypothyroidism cases occur periodically, which results due to the errors in the growth of thyroid glands. In these conditions, the thyroid glands generally fail to develop, may have actually formed partially or have developed in the wrong place. The errors in the growth of thyroid glands results in damaging the functions of the thyroids encouraging hormones. Some of the other congenital hypothyroidism cases are developed due to the autosomal recessive qualities. If this case develops in infants it can affect thyroid metabolism in the thyroid glands. Lack of iodine was once the main contributor to this type of disease. With the extensive introduction of iodine in the diet, the number of casualties attributed to the lack of iodine has been reduced significantly.

Symptoms of Congenital Hypothyroidism

Most of the infants with congenital hypothyroidism can have some of the following symptoms: -

- Brittle hair or dry skin

- Low body temperature

- Decreased activity

- Exaggerated jaundice

- Irregular bowl movements or constipation

- Weak cry

- Poor muscle tone

- Weight gain or poor eating

- Excessive sleep

These above mentioned symptoms are frequently asymptomatic and are usually ignored for number of times. Due to this problem, it is very important that these kinds of disorders are identified through the screening test of the infants.

Congenital Hypothyroidism: Treatment and Result

As a person comes to know that he or she has diagnosed the symptoms of congenital hypothyroidism, the lifelong treatment for treating this disease would be to replace thyroid hormones by the therapy. This replacement therapy is known as levothyroxine, which is a synthetic version of thyroid hormone and can be found in the form of pills. These pills are quite effective and placed in the back of the diseased tongue and are also offered bottle, pacifier or breast in order to start swallowing. It is important to make a note to avoid liquid preparations of this therapy in order to avoid potential variations in its administrations.

Infants usually need to be monitored to know if they have diagnosed thyroid hormones through regular blood testing. This blood test must be performed every second or third month until three years. A pediatric endocrinologist is the authorized person who monitors the blood test treatment and schedule. If congenital hypothyroidism is left untreated then it can normally cause stunted physical growth and mental retardation. And, in case the treatment is delayed then problems such as irreversible neurological are likely to occur. Luckily, if infants start treating this disease immediately they can develop normally mentally and physically.

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