Improved prognosis in congenital bypothyroidism treated before age three months

doi:10.1016/S0022-3476(72)80542-0

The Journal of Pediatrics

Volume 81, Issue 5, November 1972, Pages 912-915

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-3476(72)80542-0 Get rights and content

The relationship between age at beginning therapy and subsequent intelligence quotient was studied in 31 patients with congenital hypothyroidism. Those patients treated before three months of age had a significantly higher average I.Q. than those treated after three months. Because the clinical symptomatology before three months of age is often obscure, and the diagnosis is often missed, a neonatal screening program could be beneficial.

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Citation Excerpt :
Further research is needed, including investigation of outcomes for children with DS with non-operative CHD. Because thyroid hormone is essential for brain development, children with untreated congenital or early hypothyroidism may be at risk for impaired brain development and subsequent cognitive and motor deficits (Bernal, Guadaño-Ferraz, & Morte, 2003; Klein, Meltzer, & Kenny, 1972; Salazar, Cisternas, Martinez, & Inestrosa, 2019). Thyroid hormone is critical for development and differentiation of cells in the nervous system, and in DS, untreated hypothyroidism may have a deleterious effect on an already at-risk developing nervous system.
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Congenital hypothyroidism (CHT) represents a clinical and biochemical spectrum with associated implications in terms of screening and management. Babies at the mild end of this spectrum are more heterogeneous in terms of etiology and the potential benefits arising from their detection and intervention with thyroid hormone are less clear cut. This uncertainty is reflected in differences in screening threshold selected by nations. Preterm delivery can have a profound impact on the hypothalamo-pituitary thyroid axis and introduces an additional layer of complexity when selecting babies who may benefit from intervention. Iodine status remains an important agenda item whenever thyroid dysfunction in the newborn is discussed.
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^*

Supported in part by United States Public Health Service Grants Nos. FR 05507, FR 05416, and RR 84, The Renziehausen Fund.

Presented in part at the meeting of the American Pediatric Society, Atlantic City, N. J., April 29 to May 1, 1971.

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Original articleImproved prognosis in congenital bypothyroidism treated before age three months*

J. Pediatr.

Improved prognosis in congenital hypothyroidism treated before three months. Behavior concerns of parents of treated cretins

Pediatr. Res.

The mental prognosis in hypothyroidism of infancy and childhood

Pediatrics

Congenital hypothyroidism

J. Mich. State Med. Soc.

Mental retardation in congenital hypothyroidism: Improvement with thyroid replacement therapy

Am. J. Ment. Defic.

Original article
Improved prognosis in congenital bypothyroidism treated before age three months*