Cretinism is said to be the most dangerous intellectual and developmental disability (IDD). Cretinism occurs when a pregnant woman has a severe iodine deficiency. It is usually seen as one of the causes of underactive thyroid function at birth. It is kept untreated then it can hamper one’s physical and mental development. Enlarging tongue, protruding abdomen can be signs of cretinism. A goiter is always the most specific marker of intake of iodine in a human body. This disease/disorder is negligibly mentioned in the books because earlier it was erroneously considered to be an aesthetic rather than a disease.
There are two types of cretinism, neurological cretinism and myxedematous. Myxedematous cretinism was the most prevalent form in regions of Africa. The goiter is usually absent in the myxedematous cretinism because of thyroid atrophy. The signs of this type of cretinism are mental retardation and dwarfism. Neurological cretinism will be explained in brief in the latter part of the article.
What is the cause of cretinism?
Do you know what is the cause of cretinism and write the symptoms of cretinism? The causes of cretinism are as follows:
- A formation of a missing or abnormally small thyroid gland.
- If there is any genetic defect that causes the production of thyroid hormone.
- If there was a severe deficiency of iodine in the mother’s diet.
- If any type of radioactive iodine or antithyroid treatment is done for thyroid cancer during pregnancy of the mother.
- The use of medicines that can stop thyroid hormone production such as antithyroid drugs or lithium during pregnancy.
Neurological cretinism
Neurological cretinism is usually categorized as mental retardation, squint, a disorder of stance and gait. Neurological cretinism was less prevalent but is more dangerous than its counterpart, myxedematous cretinism. Neurological cretinism states that the most common cause of neurological cretinism could be maternal hyperthyroidism which is caused by a high deficiency of iodine. In some countries, it is seen that some regions might have a higher rate of one type but less rate of the other type, but there are even some cases where an individual can have the symptoms of both types of cretinism.
A study was done about 112 cretins in Thailand, it was reported that their mean IQ score was 30.8 ± 8.8. In addition to the presence of cretins in a community, Chen and Hetzel stated that mild retardation was found in the children who were living in the area of endemic cretinism. Often, these children are referred to as “sub-cretins”.
Endemic cretinism
Endemic cretinism is believed to be the most dangerous disorder which is caused by the deficiency of iodine. There are two syndromes of endemic cretinism, one is neurological cretinism and the other is myxedematous cretinism. Both the syndrome is getting more and more attention as it is a very common disorder that is pretty well known all over the world. There was a study made in Java, Indonesia about a predominant neurological endemic.
They found the almost same pattern in the neurological involvements in almost all the cities from both the endemics, regardless of, if it’s neurological cretinism or myxedematous cretinism, and of all the thyroid functions which will be given below. Many patients usually show a characteristic of gait; other features that we encountered are squint, deafness, and primitive reflexes. The cerebral computerized tomography also reveals basal ganglia classification in 15 to 50 subjects.
Symptoms of cretinism
Cretinism is of two types neurological and myxedematous, so the symptoms of these two differ from each other. Apart from the neurological cretinism meaning, the symptoms should also be understood which are as follows:
There are usually only three characteristic features of neurological endemic cretinism that is an extremely severe mental deficiency with a squint and a disorder of stance and gait. They usually have a goiter which the counterpart doesn’t. We should note that the cerebellum, hypothalamus, visual system, and hippocampus are almost relatively spared. It is said that the most common cause of neurological cretinism could be maternal hyperthyroidism which is caused by a high deficiency of iodine.
The symptoms of myxedematous cretinism are incomplete maturation of facial features, late sexual maturation, and husky voice. Some of the characteristics of cretinism are mental retardation, dwarfism, and hypothyroidism with physical symptoms. Goiter is usually absent in this type of cretinism and the thyroid is often not palpable, referring to thyroid atrophy.
Conclusion
To sum it all up, cretinism is said to be the most dangerous intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Cretinism occurs when a pregnant woman has a severe iodine deficiency. It is usually seen as one of the causes of underactive thyroid function at birth. It is kept untreated then it can hamper one’s physical and mental development. There are two types of cretinism, neurological cretinism and myxedematous.
Neurological cretinism is usually categorized as mental retardation, squint, a disorder of stance and gait. Neurological cretinism was less prevalent but is more dangerous than its counterpart, myxedematous cretinism. Endemic cretinism is believed to be the most dangerous disorder which is caused by the deficiency of iodine. There are two syndromes of endemic cretinism, one is neurological cretinism and the other is myxedematous cretinism.
There are usually only three characteristic features of neurological endemic cretinism that is an extremely severe mental deficiency with a squint and a disorder of stance and gait. They usually have a goiter which the counterpart doesn’t. The symptoms of myxedematous cretinism are incomplete maturation of facial features, late sexual maturation, husky voice, etc.