Abstract
Since the deleterious effects of permanent hypothyroidism (PCH) on brain maturation and physical development are wellknown it was of interest to investigate brain maturation and bone age (BA) in newborns with transient goitrous hypothyroidism due to fetal iodine deficiency. The intracortical synaptic potentials contribute substantially to the bioelectric activity recorded as EEG and they have been reported to reflect a maturational delay of the hypothyroid brain in the human infant. In the present study we investigated EEG patterns during sleep in 14 newborn infants with iodine deficient goiters (euthyroid n = 4, hypothyroid n = 10). Results were compared with 36 controls. BA was retarded in 6 of 10 newborns with transient hypothyroidism. 3 of 10 infants with hypothyroid goiters exhibited BA retardation and more immature EEG patterns than expected resulting in underestimation of conceptional age. Delay in bioelectric brain maturation was similar to findings in PCH. In conclusion our findings indicate that fetal iodine deficiency not only leads to retardation of bone age but also can interfere with bioelectric fetal brain maturation which reflects structural brain development and must therefore be regarded as a potential hazard for neurophysiological development of child.
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Heidemann, P., Schulte, F. & Stubbe, P. Delay of bioelectric brain maturation in congenital iodine deficient hypothyroidism. Pediatr Res 18, 1222 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198411000-00128
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198411000-00128