Contents
How can cretinism be treated?
The main treatment is to give the baby thyroid hormone (levothyroxine). This condition must be treated within the first four weeks after birth or the intellectual disability may be permanent. Thyroid hormone comes in a pill that parents can crush up into their baby’s breast milk, formula, or water.
How can you prevent iodine deficiency?
At a population level, iodine deficiency disorder (IDD) can be prevented by the iodization of food products or the water supply. In practice, this is usually achieved by iodization of salt. An alternative in some developing countries has been the periodic injection of iodized oil supplements.
What deficiency causes cretinism?
Cretinism refers to severe hypothyroidism in an infant or child. This is classically the result of maternal iodine deficiency, and thankfully is increasingly rare.
What are two causes of cretinism?
Deficiency and Toxicity Iodine deficiency is well known as cause of cretinism in fetus and newborn, characterized by low birth weight, short stature, mental retardation, deaf, and/or mutism. Iodine deficiency in later period of life causes goiter commonly seen in low iodine intake region.
What is difference between cretinism and dwarfism?
In several hormonal disorders and hereditary conditions dwarfism is associated with subnormal intelligence. Inadequate production of thyroid hormone during gestation and early infancy results in a condition known as cretinism, which is characterized by growth retardation and severe mental retardation.
How common is cretinism?
Statistics on Congenital hypothyroidism (Cretinism) Incomplete development of the thyroid is the most common defect and occurs at a rate of 1 out of every 3,000 births. Girls are twice as often affected than boys.
Is there a way to prevent cretinism in newborns?
It is possible to prevent the brain and the nervous system from being effected by cretinism if the diagnosis is done within two weeks following the birth of the newborn. Some of the treatment options that may be applied are: Thyroxine may be administered to the newborn.
How to prevent the brain from being effected by cretinism?
It is possible to prevent the brain and the nervous system from being effected by cretinism if the diagnosis is done within two weeks following the birth of the newborn. Some of the treatment options that may be applied are:
Why do some people get cretinism during pregnancy?
When the mother of the baby has an iodine deficiency during her pregnancy, there will be insufficient amount of iodine for the production of thyroid hormones. This is a common cause of cretinism in people who do not have enough source of iodine in their countries.
What kind of medication is used for cretinism?
Maternal hyperthyroidism: This involves the medication called Thioamides. This treatment of maternal hyperthyroidism antagonizes the production of fetal thyroid hormones. Radioactive iodine: The use of this treatment to a pregnant woman can halt the thyroid gland proper functioning permanently. [4] Most cases of cretinism have no known cause.