This Article  • Full text  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Citing articles on ISI (47)  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal  Topic Collections  • Neurology  • Dementias  • Review  • Alert me on articles by topic

Anthony T. Dugbartey, PhD

Arch Intern Med. 1998;158:1413-1418.

Hypothyroidism is associated with significant neurocognitive deficits that develop across the life span. This article discusses the patterns of cognitive deficits associated with congenital and adult-onset hypothyroidism. A review of the extant literature shows that the successful treatment of clinically evident thyroid gland hypofunction, resulting in a return to euthyroidism in both infants and adults, may be associated with only partial and typically inconsistent patterns of recovery of overall neurocognitive function. In addition to demonstrating different patterns of cognitive impairments, patients with congenital and acquired adult-onset hypothyroidism have variable responses to thyroid replacement therapy, which increases the risk of higher neurocognitive morbidity associated with congenital hypothyroidism. An evaluation of the commonly held view that hypothyroid dementia is an imminently reversible condition is only partially supported by the medical literature, which is fraught with methodological and conceptual shortcomings. I offer some recommendations for addressing the cognitive and behavioral management concerns of individuals with clinical hypothyroidism.

From the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle.

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Health Status, Mood, and Cognition in Experimentally Induced Subclinical Hypothyroidism
Samuels et al.
J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 2007;92:2545-2551.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Verbal Memory Retrieval Deficits Associated With Untreated Hypothyroidism
Miller et al.
J. Neuropsychiatry Clin. Neurosi. 2007;19:132-136.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

The Association of Polymorphisms in the Type 1 and 2 Deiodinase Genes with Circulating Thyroid Hormone Parameters and Atrophy of the Medial Temporal Lobe
de Jong et al.
J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 2007;92:636-640.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

fMRI revealed neural substrate for reversible working memory dysfunction in subclinical hypothyroidism
Zhu et al.
Brain 2006;129:2923-2930.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Thyroid Hormones, Dementia, and Atrophy of the Medial Temporal Lobe
de Jong et al.
J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 2006;91:2569-2573.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Iodine supplementation improves cognition in iodine-deficient schoolchildren in Albania: a randomized, controlled, double-blind study
Zimmermann et al.
Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2006;83:108-114.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Cognitive functioning and well-being in euthyroid patients on thyroxine replacement therapy for primary hypothyroidism
Wekking et al.
Eur J Endocrinol 2005;153:747-753.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Health-related quality of life, anxiety and depression in thyroid cancer patients under short-term hypothyroidism and TSH-suppressive levothyroxine treatment
Tagay et al.
Eur J Endocrinol 2005;153:755-763.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Similitude of Brain Perfusion Pattern in Hypothyroidism and Early Alzheimer's Disease: Physiopathologic Considerations
Guedj et al.
JNM 2005;46:1247-1248.
FULL TEXT  

Thyroid Status, Disability and Cognitive Function, and Survival in Old Age
Gussekloo et al.
JAMA 2004;292:2591-2599.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Regional Cerebral Blood Flow in Patients with Mild Hypothyroidism
Krausz et al.
JNM 2004;45:1712-1715.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Rhes Is Involved in Striatal Function
Spano et al.
Mol. Cell. Biol. 2004;24:5788-5796.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

The Decreasing Prevalence of Reversible Dementias: An Updated Meta-analysis
Clarfield
Arch Intern Med 2003;163:2219-2229.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Does a Combination Regimen of Thyroxine (T4) and 3,5,3'-Triiodothyronine Improve Depressive Symptoms Better Than T4 Alone in Patients with Hypothyroidism? Results of a Double-Blind, Randomized, Controlled Trial
Sawka et al.
J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 2003;88:4551-4555.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Cerebral Blood Flow and Glucose Metabolism in Hypothyroidism: A Positron Emission Tomography Study
Constant et al.
J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 2001;86:3864-3870.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT