Thyroid Gland Flashcards
What is the control of thyroid activity?
Hypothalamus, pituitary and thymus
What type of disease is Grave’s?
Autoimmune
What does Grave’s cause?
Cause goitre (smooth) and hyperthyroidism
What do antibodies bind to and cause in Grave’s?
- bind to and stimulate the TSH receptor in the thyroid
2. bind to muscles behind the eye and cause exophthalmos
What else happens in Graves?
- Other antibodies cause pretibial myxoedema (hypertrophy)
2. The swelling (non-pitting) that occurs on the shins of patients with Graves’ disease: growth of soft tissue
What is Plummer’s disease?
- Toxic nodular goitre
- NOT autoimmune
- Benign adenoma that is overactive at making thyroxine
- High T4 and T3 but no TSH
- In iodine scale only tumour takes up iodine and not symmetrical and still bile to see some radiation in other areas unlike in Graves
What happens in Plummer’s?
- NO pretibial myxoedema
* NO exophthalmos
What is the effect of thyroxine on the beta adrenoreceptors in sympathetic nervous system?
- Sensitises beta adrenoceptors to ambient levels of adrenaline and noradrenaline
- Sympathetic activation
What is are the symptoms of thyroxine’s effects on the sympathetic nervous system (hyperthyroidism)?
- Tachycardia
- Palpitations
- Tremor in hands
- Lid lag
What are the symptoms of hyperthyroidism?
- Weight loss despite increased appetite
- Breathlessness,
- Palpitations, tachycardia
- Sweating
- Heat intolerance
- Diarrhoea
- Lid lag and other sympathetic features
How dangerous are thyroid storms?
50% mortality untreated, sudden hyperthyroidism
What are symptoms of thyroid storm?
- Blood results confirm hyperthyroidism
- Hyperpyrexia > 41oC
- accelerated tachycardia / arrhythmia
- cardiac failure
- delirium / frank psychosis
- hepatocellular dysfunction; jaundice
- Needs aggressive treatment
What are the treatment options for hypothyroidism?
- Surgery
- Radioiodine
- Drugs
What are the classes for drugs used to treat hyperthyroidism?
- The thionamides (thiourylenes;anti-thyroid drugs)
- Potassium Iodide
- Radioiodine
- β-blockers
What are examples of thionamides?
- propylthiouracil (PTU)
- carbimazole (CBZ)
What do beta blockers do?
Help with symptoms only
What do thionamides, potassium iodide and radioiodine do?
reduce thyroid hormone synthesis
What is the clinical use of thionamides?
- Daily treatment of hyperthyroid conditions
- Graves’
- Toxic thyroid nodule/toxic multinodular goitre