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Doctor.NDTV.com
Understanding Thyroid Disorders
Dr Anthony Toft,
Former President of the British Thyroid Association and The Royal College
Family Doctor Publications Ltd.in association with the British Medical Association, UK
2006, 115 Pages, Price: Rs. 380

Dr Toft has with this booklet provided ‘essential reading’for anyone either with a family history or an interest in the problems of the thyroid gland.

In India we frequently come across people, particularly from the hills, who have what appears to be a ‘tumour’ of the neck but is actually a very avoidable case of ‘goitre’. This is caused by a lack of iodine in the drinking water. Iodine is an essential part of the hormones of the thyroid and its deficiency causes a part of the gland to enlarge and grow abnormally. This can, besides being cosmetically alarming, also affect its functioning. It is not uncommon to find middle-aged women complaining of lethargy, excessive loss of hair, intellectual slowdown, slurred speech, slow pulse and persistent constipation. The cause of this is found increasingly to be an underactive thyroid or ‘hypothyroidism’. Lithium, a drug used in cases of depression and mania may cause goiter and hypothyroidism so it is important to know the signs and report them early to the concerned psychiatrist/physician. On the other hand a woman with a young family may find herself increasingly unable to cope with her daily chores, abnormally sensitive, crying easily, unable to concentrate, breathless and irritable. She may complain of a rapid heartbeat, tremor in both hands, diaorrhoea. In this case she could have an overactive thyroid or ‘hyperthyroidism’and would early medical attention.

From the above one can understand the importance of the small thyroid gland, which is located between the skin of the neck and the voice box (the larynx). T3 (trriiodothyronine) and T4 (thyroxine) are its hormones. These are secreted into the bloodstream from where they control the normal working of the cells and the metabolism of our body. The other very important hormone that in turn maintains the levels of T3 and T4 in the blood is located in the brain and is a pea-size structure of the pituitary gland. The complexity of the normal and consequences of the abnormal functioning of the thyroid gland have been conveyed by Dr Toft with great clarity within the limited space of this booklet and it provides answers to many misunderstood and very treatable problems of personality, behaviour and body structure.
Doctor.NDTV.com
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