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Hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism essay
Hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism essay
Hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism essay
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The thyroid is a reddish, ductless gland that looks like butterfly-shaped gland that is located in front of the trachea. The gland is the most richly vascular tissue. It consist of numerous closed follicles containing colloid matter and is surrounded by a vascular network. The thyroid gland might be small but it plays a huge role in our body. The thyroid influence the function of the body’s most important organs including: the heart, brain, liver, kidneys and even the skin. Ensuring that the thyroid gland is healthy and functioning properly is very important to the body’s health.
The thyroid gland uses iodine from your diet to produce hormones. The thyroid gland produces two hormones: thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3). Thyroxine contains four iodine atoms and the triiodothyronine contains three iodine atoms. T3 is made when one atom from T4 is removed. This conversion mostly occurs outside of the thyroid in organs and tissue where T3 is mostly used, such as the liver, the brain, and the kidneys.
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When the hypothalamus secretes thyrotropin releasing hormone, which then stimulates the anterior pituitary gland to release thyroid-stimulating hormone. The thyroid-stimulating hormone stimulates the thyroid gland to release its hormones T3 and T4. The hormones regulate general body metabolism. An imbalance within the thyroid hormones may interfere with the following body functions: growth, maturation; carbohydrates, proteins, and lipid metabolism; thermoregulation; cardiovascular function; and reproduction. Thyroid disease is broken up into two opposite disorders such as: hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism. This happens when your thyroid gland is not functioning
I should remember the lecture note that parafollicular cells of the thyroid gland produce calcitonin.
Hypothyroidism develops when the thyroid gland does not produce enough of certain hormones. (“Hypothyroidism”, n.d.). Hypothyroidism can be broken down even further. The two types of hypothyroidism are congenital hypothyroidism or acquired hypothyroidism. According to Porth 2011, “Congenital hypothyroidism develops prenatally and is present at birth. Acquired hypothyroidism develops later in life because of primary disease of the thyroid gland or secondary to disorders of hypothalamic or pituitary origin.” (p. 786). Some common symptoms include increased sensitivity to cold, dry skin, fatigue, constipation, drowsiness, hypothermia and muscle weakness (“Hypothyroidism”, n.d.).
Thyroid and metabolism hormones play a large role in the daily lives of all living species. Thyroid hormones regulate the metabolism and the metabolism is responsible for maintaining a specific range for the biochemical reactions that occur in the body (Martini 2014). The most important hormone for metabolic maintenance is thyroxine (T4). This hormone also plays a large role in body heat regulation. It is produced by the pituitary gland and secreted by the thyroid gland. The thyroid releasing hormone (TRH) must trigger the thyroid stimulating hormones (TSH) to release thyroid hormones to the thyroid gland. These hormones are under control of the hypothalamus, or main neural control center. Propylthiouracil (PTU) is a medication used to treat
The location of the pituitary gland is in the sella turcica of the sphenoid bone and attaches to the hypothalamus(Marieb & Hoehn 441). The Hypothalamus is included in the function of the pituitary gland as it sends chemical stimulus to it(Marieb & Hoehn 442).Part of the pituitary is called the “ master endocrine gland” due to the fact that is produces many hormones that affect the whole body(Shannon 175).This part of the pituitary gland is called the anterior pituitary(Marieb & Hoehn 601). There are six hormones that the anterior pituitary secretes normally. These Hormones are growth hormones,thyroid stimulating hormones,adrenocorticotropic hormones,luteinizing hormones,follicle stimulating hormones and prolactin hormones( Shannon 175).The Hormone prolactin is one that in normal function stimulates the act of lactation for new mothers to feed their baby(Shannon 175).
Hypothyroidism is an endocrine disorder that effects the lives of many people. In hypothyroidism, the thyroid gland does not produce enough thyroid hormone, causing an array of symptoms such as fatigue, weight gain, depression, swelling of limbs, lack of focus and many more. The current standard of treatment of hypothyroidism is hormone replacement therapy with a synthetic form of thyroxine (T4) called Levothyroxine or T4 Monotherapy. The whole idea behind T4 Monotherapy is that the Levothyroxine (which is a synthetic version of the natural thyroid hormone thyroxine) will mimic what occurs naturally in the body, and be deiodinated in the peripheral tissues to become the more biologically active thyroid hormone triiodothyronine (T3) and thus, alleviating the patients symptoms. Unfortunately, this however, is not always the case. For some patients, even though they are in the therapeutic range using T4 monotherapy, their bodies aren’t properly converting the synthetic T4 to active T3. Because of this, coupled with the invention of the internet, patients are turning to search engines in hopes to find an answer that will alleviate their symptoms, which has led to a resurgence in the use of desiccated thyroid products. Desiccated thyroid is derived from porcine thyroid glands, and contain both T4 and T3 thyroid hormones. Some alternative medical practioners are claiming there is more benefit in this natural product vs synthetic, but perhaps we need to take a closer look into the alternative treatment options of hypothyroidism- such as desiccated products, and why natural might not always be better.
Graves’ disease is an autoimmune disease that was discovered by Robert Graves in 1835. Graves’ disease is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system attacks the thyroid gland and causes hyperthyroidism. Graves’ disease occurs when the antibodies like thyroid-stimulating immunoglobulin and thyrotropin receptor antibodies (TRAbs) attack the thyroid gland as if it were a foreign object or a virus of some sort. This disease is the most common type of hyperthyroidism. Attacking the thyroid gland in such a manner makes it excessively overproduce the hormone thyroxine which controls the body’s metabolic rate. Heightened activity of the thyroid can increase the body’s metabolism by 60% to 100%. (Weeks 34-35).
This is due to the lack of the hormone T3 and T4 being released within their body which ultimately affects your metabolism. Many thyroid patients experience unexpected weight gain so eating a healthy diet filled with good nutrients to keep your body strong are needed. Eating an unhealthy diet will cause even more problems to your health while your whole system is running slower than normal. The number one things that most doctors and dieticians recommend to their patients is to get the thyroid under control because it is very hard to lose weight while having underactive thyroid. Sheila Dean who is the CED of the Palm Harbor Center for Health and Healing in Florida says that “The biggest factors that help with weight loss are calorie- and carbohydrate-controlled meal plans”(Dean, 1). For thyroid patients it is important to limit your calorie and carbohydrates intake because those are the two biggest components to losing weight because of the sugar and extra weight you can put on if you exceed an unhealthy limit. Some key nutrients that should be incorporated in your diet include iodine, Vitamin D, Selenium, Vitamin B12, and Goitrogens all play an important role in healthy
Thyroid cancer is an abnormal and malignant cell growth in the thyroid gland (see figure 1). The wellbeing of a person’s thyroid gland is extremely important, as this organ secretes hormones and other chemicals that help a person maintain homeostasis, more specifically the weight, blood pressure, heart rate, and internal body temperature (Bethesda, National Cancer Institute). According to the Mayo Clinic, although it is not yet clear to researchers what exactly causes thyroid cancer, what medical scientists do know is why it occurs. One type of thyroid cancer that can be genetic is medullary thyroid cancer. This type of cancer is genetic because it is linked with a variety of risk factors that could lead up to cancer, such as gender, age, radiation exposure, hereditary conditions, and family history (“What Are the Risk Factors for Thyroid Cancer?”). A major specific cause of thyroid diseases and cancers is insufficient iodine intake. Thyroid cancer is less common in the United States, than places that do not include as much iodine in the diet because in the United States, iodine is often added to many foods and consumption products. An environmental factor that is associated with thyroid cancer is exposure to radiation. One major example of this is the radiation from the Chernobyl incident; many people were affected by the radiation and many people, especially children, developed thyroid cancer (“What Are the Risk Factors for Thyroid Cancer?”).
The hormones produced from the endocrine system come from a wide range of different places. Among those responsible for hormone production are the glands and a few organs as well. The glands that are involved are the pituitary, thyroid, thymus, parathyroid, and adrenal. The organs, which also play a vital part, are the pancreas, gonads, kidneys, heart, and parts of the digestive tract. All these different glands or organs work together in the production of certain hormones. Those produced in one location will almost always have an effect on many other areas of the body, not just the surrounding tissues.
Thyroid cancer starts in the thyroid gland. The thyroid gland is located in the front part of your neck below just below your Adams apple. The thyroid isn’t really that noticeable making it very difficult to be felt for. Your thyroid gland controls thyroid hormones that help to regulate metabolism, mine works as slow as state government. On occation there can be too much or too little hormones produced which can cause all sorts of other problems. The thyroid also control how the body utilizes calcium. (American Cancer Society, 2012)
The balance of the thyroid hormone is complicated and involves the participation of different parts of the body (Kaplustin, 2010).
The thyroid gland plays a major role in the endocrine, thyroxine, triiodothyronine and metabolism system. The gland can be found in the front of the neck and above where the collar bones meet. The thyroid gland controls the body by releasing T4 and T3 hormones. Controlling metabolism plays an important role when regulating mood, weight,
The thyroid gland is found in the front of the neck and produces two main hormones. The hormones are called thuroxine (T4) and Triiodothyronine (T3). Together these hormones regulate the body’s metabolism by increasing energy use in cells, regulate growth and development, help to maintain body temperature and aid in oxygen consumption. These two hormones are regulated by hormones produced by the hypothalamus and pituitary gland. The hypothalamus senses changes in body’s metabolic rate and releases a hormone known as thyropin-releasing hormone (TRH). This hormone then flows through connecting vessels to the pituitary gland which signals it to release another hormone. This hormone is known as thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH). TSH then makes its way to the bloodstream until it reaches the thyroid where it is then signaled to activate T3 and T4 production [1]. This mechanism is controlled by a negative feedback loop meaning that when there is a sufficient amount of thyroid hormones in the blood stream, this will signal back to stop production of thyroid stimulating hormones. Complications occur when the thyroid hormones keep increasing even though there is already a sufficient amount of T3 and T4 in the blood stream. This process of over expression of thryroid hormones is known as hyperthyroidism. Hyperthyroidism is a general term that includes any disease that has a consequence of an overabundance of thyroid hormones. Hyperthyroidism is a general term but there are many variant diseases that are in the hyperthyroidism category. These diseases include diffuse toxic goiter, Basedow’s disease, thyrotoxicosis, Parry’s and Graves’ disease.
Among these disorders are hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism. Hypothyroidism is a disorder in which one is diagnosed for having and underactive thyroid. The probability for women over the age of sixty to develop an underactive thyroid is higher than those of other individuals. If left untreated it can potentially lead to obesity, joint pain, heart disease, and other health complications. On the contrary, hyperthyroidism is a disorder in which a person is diagnosed for having an overactive thyroid. This can cause nervousness and anxiety, hyperactivity, unexplained weight loss, and swelling of the thyroid gland which causes a noticeable lump to form on throat (known as a
...culatory system. Pituitary gland is a growth hormone that helps in mertabolism and develops reproductive organs. The thyroid controls metabolsim on the rate that the body breaks down food. Adrenal gland secretes many hormones including adrenaline which prepares the body to react in a stressful situation. The pancreas produces digestive enzymes and insulin. Ovaries produce ova and estrogen. Testes produce sperm cells and testosterone. To stay healthy you should get a regular medical check-up, eat a well-balanced diet, sleep at least 8 hours, and decrease stress in your life. Some problems are growth disorders, diabetes, and obesity. Puberty begins at different times for girls then boys. Girls start around ages 9-13 and boys are ages 10-15.