Thyroid Gland: Diseases & Treatments

By: Dr (Hakeem) Aslam Javed

Thyroid is a large ductless gland, situated just under the Adam's apple in the neck. It is in two equal parts surrounding the wind pipe, and its weight is a little less than one ounce. Thyroid gland is a vital part of your body's endocrine system that controls many vital functions in the body with the help of specific hormones including their production and secretion in the blood, which regulatebody's growth and development.

Thyroid is made of several small-sized glands that contain thyroid hormones. It is one of your endocrine glands, which make hormones. The hormones contain iodine in right proportion and around 80 per cent iodine requirement of our body is supplied by thyroid. Any deficiency in thyroid's iodine can cause hypothyroidism. The iodine deficiency in children can imbalance their hormonal system; they can suffer from a condition called 'cretinism' which blunts the natural growth of their mind, body and reproductive system.

Thyroid controls many functions in the body:

Thyroid is also known as T-3, RT-3 (Reverse T-3) and T-4. T-3 and RT-3 hormones are derived from T-4 hormone. Many hormones are found in other places of the body. Whenever our body needs more thyroid hormones, our thyroid gland regulates or limits the inflow of T-4 hormone. Consequently, T-4 and other hormones that are part of it reach many parts of our body in exact amount. As accelerator controls the speed of a car, similarly thyroid hormones control the entire metabolism system and the rate of many activities in your body. These include how fast you burn calories and how fast your heart beats. All of these activities are your body's metabolism. So, thyroid hormones regulate the energy intake from our foods and keep our vital parts of the body in action.

Thyroid is also responsible for many other vital functions in our body. For instance, it controls triglyceride and helps to regulate Lipoproteins (LDL) or bad cholesterol in the blood. Cholesterol is a compound of the sterol type found in most body tissues. Cholesterol and its derivatives are important constituents of cell membranes and precursors of other steroid compounds, but high concentrations in the blood are thought to promote atherosclerosis. Deficiency in thyroid hormones can be a cause of an increase in bad cholesterol (LDL) and decrease of good cholesterol (HDL). So thyroid dysfunction has a great effect on your lipid profile and cardiovascular system.

Thyroid imbalance can also cause stomach upsets such as indigestion or loose motion as thyroid hormones are also active in your gut area, affecting the movement or motion of your food pipe and intestines.

The back region of the human brain (hypothalamus) controls the balance of thyroid. The hypothalamus is a portion of the brain that contains a number of small nuclei with a variety of functions. One of the most important functions of the hypothalamus is to link the nervous system to the endocrine system via the pituitary gland. When your body requires thyroid hormones, this part of your brain sends a signal to the pituitary gland which releases TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) that commands thyroid to release its own hormones into the blood. Your doctor gets a clue for a presence of any thyroid related medical condition from the level of TSH and thyroid hormones in your blood. The tests reveal whether your thyroid hormones are working properly or not. This also helps us to save us from many thyroid related problems.

Lack of iodine in your foods, physical and mental stress, autoimmune conditions and diseases that keep your body chronically tired can disturb your thyroid hormones. Thyroid disorder (increased level) can cause several lumps on the body and goiter. These small swellings or lumps on the body should be taken seriously as they can be a cause of cancer.

Generally, low or high level of thyroid hormones causes a thyroid related condition. Over secretion of thyroid hormones is known as hyperthyroidism. Deficiency in these hormones is known as hypothyroidism. Thyroid-caused diseases take place in your body so slowly that you hardly know about it until they come into full effect. So, early diagnosis of thyroid disorder can save you from future complications.

The most common thyroid-related diseases are Hashimoto's disease and Grave's disease. Women are six times more prone to Hashimoto's disease than men and it is due hypothyroidism. Grave's disease is also eight times more prevalent amongst women and it is due to hyperthyroidism.

Generally, people are a bit confused about the right time for thyroid test, but it is recommended that women should get it done after delivery.

Healthcare providers perform thyroid tests to assess how well your thyroid is working. The tests are also used to diagnose and help to find the cause of thyroid disorders such as hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism:

Thyroid tests:

Doctors may order several blood tests to check thyroid function, including TSH test, T4 test, T3 test, thyroid-stimulating immunoglobulin (TSI) test, and antithyroid antibody test, also called the thyroid peroxides antibody test (TPOab)

A blood test involves drawing blood at a health care provider's office or a commercial facility and sending the sample to a lab for analysis. Blood tests assess thyroid function by measuring TSH and thyroid hormone levels, and by detecting certain auto-antibodies present in autoimmune thyroid disease. Auto-antibodies are molecules produced by a person's body that mistakenly attack the body's own tissues. These antibodies affect thyroid gland.

If antibodies test reveals the over secretion of hormones, thyroid scanning is recommended. But this test is not prescribed for pregnant women and lactating mothers. If a patient has thyroid-related lumps, the liquid of a lump is extracted and sent to the lab to ascertain whether these lumps are harmful.

Treatment:

Hyperthyroidism:

Proper diagnosis and treatment can be very effective in case of hyperthyroidism that produces symptoms such as restlessness, high hear beats, weakness and general anxiety. Apart from this, over secretion of thyroid hormones are also regulated in the gland with the proper medication. In some cases, operation is carried out to clean up the lumps.

Hypothyroidism:

Doctors recommend daily intake of T4 hormone to those lacking thyroid hormones or those patients from whom thyroid hormones have been taken out. Doctors take into account many parameters of each patient to recommend exact doses of this hormone.

Thyroid-related cancers are treated with the help of surgery, medications, chemotherapy and radioactive iodine therapy.

Various researches indicate that thyroid is more common amongst the patients of diabetes. According to researchers, symptoms of both - diabetes and thyroid - are found amongst diabetics. Around one third of patients having type 1 diabetes suffer from some disorders related to thyroid. This is because symptoms found in Type 1 diabetics and thyroid patients are basically related to those diseases which are connected to autoimmune disorders in which our immune system start attacking itself. Patients suffering from any such disease are more prone to thyroid disorders in comparison to common people.

Women are more prone to thyroid disorders:

Thyroid disorders are more prevalent amongst women than men, and around 30 per cent female diabetics have some thyroid disorders. Women suffering from diabetes are three times more prone to some thyroid disorders than healthy women. It is very common to see women,who are suffering from type 2 diabetes,getting thyroid disorders as they age. The symptoms of diabetes and thyroid are so similar that even experts can get confused, so a proper diagnosis is recommended to figure out the root cause of these confusing symptoms.

Thyroid disorders can complicate diabetes management:

Since the thyroid gland plays a central role in the regulation of metabolism, abnormal thyroid function can have a major impact on the control of diabetes. In addition, untreated thyroid disorder can increase the risk of certain diabetic complications and can aggravate many diabetes symptoms.

The functions of Thyroid gland can affect the symptoms of diabetes. Thyroidism (thyroid disorders) has a deep relation with sugar control and insulin level in the blood. The production of glucose is increased in the liver and the system absorbs it fast, causing an imbalance insulin level. So, thyroidism can also expose silent diabetes, or aggravate the dormant diabetes symptoms.

Various adverse changes are seen in fat metabolism amongst the patients of hypothyroidism. It can increase LDL or bad cholesterol and triglyceride, which can increase fat level in the body. This is more common in patients of type 2 diabetes. It can cause cardiovascular diseases like blocked veins. Proper doses of thyroxin hormone can remove excess fat.

Get tested now:

Diabetes patients must have TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) test. Considering the link between thyroid and diabetes, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) has recommended a compulsory test for diabetes patients to figure out any thyroid disorder. To test TSH level in the blood is the best way to reach a definite conclusion. High TSH level means hypothyroidism while low TSH level indicates towards hyperthyroidism.