Find information on thousands of medical conditions and prescription drugs.

Hyperthyroidism

Hyperthyroidism (or "overactive thyroid gland") is the clinical syndrome caused by an excess of circulating free thyroxine (T4) or free triiodothyronine (T3), or both. more...

Home
Diseases
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
Hairy cell leukemia
Hallermann Streiff syndrome
Hallux valgus
Hantavirosis
Hantavirus pulmonary...
HARD syndrome
Harlequin type ichthyosis
Harpaxophobia
Hartnup disease
Hashimoto's thyroiditis
Hearing impairment
Hearing loss
Heart block
Heavy metal poisoning
Heliophobia
HELLP syndrome
Helminthiasis
Hemangioendothelioma
Hemangioma
Hemangiopericytoma
Hemifacial microsomia
Hemiplegia
Hemoglobinopathy
Hemoglobinuria
Hemolytic-uremic syndrome
Hemophilia A
Hemophobia
Hemorrhagic fever
Hemothorax
Hepatic encephalopathy
Hepatitis
Hepatitis A
Hepatitis B
Hepatitis C
Hepatitis D
Hepatoblastoma
Hepatocellular carcinoma
Hepatorenal syndrome
Hereditary amyloidosis
Hereditary angioedema
Hereditary ataxia
Hereditary ceroid...
Hereditary coproporphyria
Hereditary elliptocytosis
Hereditary fructose...
Hereditary hemochromatosis
Hereditary hemorrhagic...
Hereditary...
Hereditary spastic...
Hereditary spherocytosis
Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome
Hermaphroditism
Herpangina
Herpes zoster
Herpes zoster oticus
Herpetophobia
Heterophobia
Hiccups
Hidradenitis suppurativa
HIDS
Hip dysplasia
Hirschsprung's disease
Histoplasmosis
Hodgkin lymphoma
Hodgkin's disease
Hodophobia
Holocarboxylase...
Holoprosencephaly
Homocystinuria
Horner's syndrome
Horseshoe kidney
Howell-Evans syndrome
Human parvovirus B19...
Hunter syndrome
Huntington's disease
Hurler syndrome
Hutchinson Gilford...
Hutchinson-Gilford syndrome
Hydatidiform mole
Hydatidosis
Hydranencephaly
Hydrocephalus
Hydronephrosis
Hydrophobia
Hydrops fetalis
Hymenolepiasis
Hyperaldosteronism
Hyperammonemia
Hyperandrogenism
Hyperbilirubinemia
Hypercalcemia
Hypercholesterolemia
Hyperchylomicronemia
Hypereosinophilic syndrome
Hyperhidrosis
Hyperimmunoglobinemia D...
Hyperkalemia
Hyperkalemic periodic...
Hyperlipoproteinemia
Hyperlipoproteinemia type I
Hyperlipoproteinemia type II
Hyperlipoproteinemia type...
Hyperlipoproteinemia type IV
Hyperlipoproteinemia type V
Hyperlysinemia
Hyperparathyroidism
Hyperprolactinemia
Hyperreflexia
Hypertension
Hypertensive retinopathy
Hyperthermia
Hyperthyroidism
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
Hypoaldosteronism
Hypocalcemia
Hypochondrogenesis
Hypochondroplasia
Hypoglycemia
Hypogonadism
Hypokalemia
Hypokalemic periodic...
Hypoparathyroidism
Hypophosphatasia
Hypopituitarism
Hypoplastic left heart...
Hypoprothrombinemia
Hypothalamic dysfunction
Hypothermia
Hypothyroidism
Hypoxia
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
Medicines

Causes

Major causes in humans are:

  • Graves' disease (the most common etiology with 70-80%)
  • Toxic thyroid adenoma
  • Toxic multinodular goitre

Other causes of hyperthyroxinemia (high blood levels of thyroid hormones) are not to be confused with true hyperthyroidism and include subacute and other forms of thyroiditis (inflammation). Thyrotoxicosis (symptoms caused by hyperthyroxinemia) can occur in both hyperthyroidism and thyroiditis. When it causes acutely increased metabolism, it is sometimes called "thyroid storm".

Signs and symptoms

Major clinical features in humans are weight loss (often accompanied by a ravenous appetite), fatigue, weakness, hyperactivity, irritability, apathy, depression, polyuria, and sweating. Additionally, patients may present with a variety of symptoms such as palpitations and arrhythmias (notably atrial fibrillation), dyspnea, infertility, loss of libido, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. In the elderly, these classical symptoms may not be present and they may present only with fatigue and weight loss leading to apathetic hyperthyroidism

Neurological manifestations are tremor, chorea, myopathy, and periodic paralysis. Stroke of cardioembolic origin due to coexisting atrial fibrillation may be mentioned as one of the most serious complications of hyperthyroidism.

As to other autoimmune disorders related with thyrotoxicosis, an association between thyroid disease and myasthenia gravis has been well recognised. The thyroid disease, in this condition, is often an autoimmune one and approximately 5% of patients with myasthenia gravis also have hyperthyroidism. Myasthenia gravis rarely improves after thyroid treatment and relation between two entities is yet unknown. Some very rare neurological manifestations that are reported to be dubiously associated with thyrotoxicosis are pseudotumor cerebri, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and a Guillain-Barré-like syndrome.

Diagnosis

A diagnosis is suspected through blood tests, by measuring the level of TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) in the blood. If TSH is low, there is likely to be increased production of T4 and/or T3. Measuring specific antibodies, such as anti-TSH-receptor antibodies in Graves' disease, may contribute to the diagnosis. In all patients with hyperthyroxinemia, scintigraphy is required in order to distinguish true hyperthyroidism from thyroiditis.

Treatment

The major and generally accepted modalities for treatment of hyperthyroidism in humans are:

Surgery

Surgery (to remove the whole thyroid or a part of it) is not extensively used because most common forms of hyperthyroidism are quite effectively treated by the radioactive iodine method. However, some Graves' disease patients who cannot tolerate medicines for one reason or another or patients who refuse radioiodine opt for surgical intervention. The procedure is relatively safe - some surgeons are even treating partial thyroidectomy on an out-patient basis.

Read more at Wikipedia.org


[List your site here Free!]


Living Well with Graves' Disease and Hyperthyroidism : What Your Doctor Doesn't Tell You...That You Need to Know $8.68 Paroxysmal kinesigenic dyskinesia manifestation of hyperthyroidism.(Case Report) : An article from: Neurology India $5.95
Critique of the Hyperthyroidism and Hypothyroidism CPG : An article from: Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners $20.00 The combined effects of Trigonella and Allium extracts in the regulation of hyperthyroidism in rats. : An article from: Phytomedicine: International Journal of Phytotherapy & Phytopharmacology $5.95
New guideline for subclinical hyperthyroidism falls short.(Endocrinology) : An article from: Internal Medicine News $5.95 Caution when applying guideline for subclinical hyperthyroidism.(Clinical Rounds) : An article from: Family Practice News $5.95
Crohn's, Hyperthyroidism Mimic Anorexia.(Brief Article) : An article from: Family Practice News $5.95 Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine : Hyperthyroidism $3.90
Hyperthyroidism - A Medical Dictionary, Bibliography, and Annotated Research Guide to Internet References $48.95 Thyroid cancer prevalence after radioiodine treatment of hyperthyroidism : An article from: The Journal of Nuclear Medicine $20.00

Hyperthyroidism: diagnosis and treatment
The proper treatment of hyperthyroidism depends on recognition of the signs and symptoms of the disease and determination of the etiology. The most common cause of hyperthyroidism is Graves' diseas
Treating hyperthyroidism
What is hyperthyroidism? Hyperthyroidism (say: hi-per-THI-royd-iz-um) is when you have an overactive thyroid. The thyroid is a gland in your neck (see the figure). It makes a hormone that helps y
Hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism
When the thyroid gland, often referred to as "the body's thermostat," does not produce the correct balance of hormones, the result is hypothyroidism ...
Hyperthyroidism
Hyperthyroidism is the overproduction of thyroid hormones by an overactive thyroid.
Hyperthyroidism
Hyperthyroidism is the overproduction of thyroid hormones by an overactive thyroid.
Subclinical Hyperthyroidism: Controversies in Management
Subclinical hyperthyroidism is an increasingly recognized entity that is defined as a normal serum free thyroxine and free triiodothyronine levels with ...
Subclinical Hyperthyroidism Detected by Screening: Look Before You Treat
In 1998, the American College of Physicians(1) recommended that a routine thyrotropin-stimulating hormone (TSH) measurement be obtained to screen women ...
A REVIEW OF HYPERTHYROIDISM: A TWENTY-FIVE YEAR EXPERIENCE
Hyperthyroidism is a common endocrine disorder. We retrospectively evaluated our 25-year database of 374 patients with hyperthyroidism, reviewing underlying ...

Home Contact Resources Exchange Links ebay