Hypothyroidism | Hypothyroidism Pathophysiology – Effects Of Thyroid Hormone Deficiencies
Many people around the world have made important studies about the relevance of thyroid deficiency during birth on one structure of the brain called cerebral cortex. Such abnormalities are related to sensitivity and motor functions. Researchers try to know more about the specific points of development of nervous system on which thyroid hormones are involved, and then they attempt to organize the information to correlate deficiencies in such hormones and behavioral manifestations in adult stage.
One of the effects observed after thyroid hormone deficiency is and increase in the number of nerve cells but a decrease in their size, in the cerebral cortex.
It is important to note here that cerebral cortex participates in many functions of the body; some of them are control of movements, speech, thinking and in general higher mental functions. So any change in the pattern of the neurons that builds cerebral cortex affects these and other equally important functions.
Apart from changes in number and size of neurons, other abnormalities observed following thyroid hormone deficiency are a reduction in growth and branching of dendrites (those little ramifications in neurons) particularly in one type of cells known as pyramidal, which are involved in the control of skeletal muscles, in other words those responsible for voluntary movements.
When the communication between nerve cells called synapses is disturbed by any cause like in this case by reduction in dendrites or even axon length, motor system are seriously affected.
The deficiency in thyroid hormone has a critical relevance during the period of formation of a human being in pregnancy. So many of the alterations produced in this stage even with a supplementation of thyroid hormones at birth, could not be repaired at integrity remaining defects which can produce different syndromes. However also during adulthood, a deficiency in thyroid hormones can cause serious dysfunctions, but in this period apparently an adequate supplementation can restore completely both the thyroid imbalance and impaired functions.
Since thyroid hormones have a broad spectrum on cell functions of different regions of the nervous system not only cerebral cortex, their lack affect in a wide manner structures along the neuroaxis: head and spinal cord.
An impairment could be seen in olfactory bulbs (above nose) reducing cell formation. Also hippocampus, an structure directly involved in memory, show a reduced number of cells when thyroid hormones are lacking or in low levels.
In general the brain of people suffering hypothyroidism could be smaller and its shape is abnormal when compared with that of persons with normal thyroid hormone levels, particularly if deficiency occurs during pregnancy when nervous system is developing and growing.
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