Cretinism

The cause of cretinism is untreated hypothyroidism (hypothyroidism) in early childhood. In the past, congenital hypothyroidism, so-called endemic cretinism, was common in places with iodine deficiency.

Symptoms

The main symptoms are:

• impaired physical development,
• small stature,
• mental retardation,
• goiter.

Therapy

Thanks to the iodization of salt, we no longer encounter cretinism in the Czech Republic. However, increased amounts of iodine should be taken into account during pregnancy. An important prevention is the examination of thyroid function in pregnant women and in case of finding reduced function to administer synthetic thyroid hormones (in our country most often drugs Euthyrox, Letrox). If cretinism is diagnosed, treatment is no longer possible.

Links

Used literature

• VOKURKA, Martin. Large medical dictionary [online]. Maxdorf, ©2015. [cit. 2019-04-03]. <http://lekarske.slovniky.cz/pojem/kretenismus>.

• ŠTEFÁNEK, George. Cretinism [online]. [cit. 2019-04-03]. <https://www.stefajir.cz/?q=kretenismus>.