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Another common grouping of symptoms of thyroid problems,
Hyperthyroidism (thyrotoxicosis or "fast thyroid gland") is the clinical
syndrome caused by an excess of circulating free thyroxine (T4) and free
triiodothyronine (T3), or both. Major causes of hyperthyroidism in humans are
Graves' disease (the most common etiology
with 70-80%), toxic thyroid adenoma, toxic multinodular goitre, and subacute
thyroiditis.
Signs and Symptoms of Hyperthyroidism
Major clinical features of Hyperthyroidism in humans
are weight loss (often accompanied by a ravenous
appetite), fatigue, weakness, hyperactivity, irritability, apathy,
depression, polyuria and sweating. Additionally, hyperthyroidism patients may present
with a variety of symptoms such as palpitations and arrhythmias (notably atrial
fibrillation), dyspnea, infertility, loss of libido, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. In the elderly , these classical symptoms may not be present and they
may present only with fatigue and weight loss leading to apathetic
hyperthyroidism.
Neurological manifestations are tremor, chorea, myopathy, and
periodic paralysis. Stroke of cardioembolic origin due to coexisting atrial
fibrillation may be mentioned as one of the most serious complications of
hyperthyroidism.
As to other autoimmune disorders
related with thyrotoxicosis, an association between thyroid disease and
myasthenia gravis has well been recognised. The thyroid disease, in this
condition, is often an autoimmune one and approximately 5% of patients with
myasthenia gravis also have hyperthyroidism.
Myasthenia gravis rarely improves
after thyroid treatment and relation between two entities is yet unknown. Some
very rare neurological manifestations that are reported to be dubiously
associated with thyrotoxicosis are pseudotumor cerebri, amyotrophic lateral
sclerosis and a Guillain-Barré like syndrome.
It is recommended that Transfer
Factor Advanced Formula to be used in autoimmune conditions.
Transfer Factor Plus is generally preferred for
conditions caused by infection. Transfer Factors
suppress over acting immune system
to ease autoimmune conditions.
Diagnosis of Hyperthyroidism
A diagnosis of Hyperthyroidism is made through a blood
test, by measuring the level of T4 in the blood. High T4 levels are considered
indicative of hyperthyroidism. If the index of suspicion is low, many
doctors prefer to measure thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH). If TSH is
suppressed, there may be uncontrolled production of T4, while a normal TSH
generally rules out thyroid disease. Measuring specific antibodies, such as
anti-TSH-receptor antibodies in Graves'
disease, may contribute to the diagnosis of hyperthyroid.
Additionally, scintigraphy may be required.
Treatment of Hyperthyroidism
The major and generally accepted modalities for treatment
of hyperthyroidism in humans are:
- surgery
- radioiodine treatment
- thyrostatics - drugs that inhibit the production of
thyroid
hormones, such as methimazole (Tapazole®)
.If too high a dose is used in pharmacological
hyperthyroidism treatment,
patients can develop symptoms of hypothyroidism.
Hypothyroidism is also a very
common result of surgery or radiation treatment for hyperthyroidism as it is difficult to
gauge how much of the thyroid gland should be removed. Supplementation with
levothyroxine may be required in these cases.
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