Abstract
We have recently reported that despite early treatment, children with congenital hypothyroidism have lower scores in hearingspeech performance scales and practical reasonning at 18 and 36 months of age, using the Griffith developmental test. In order to clarify these observations, we studied somatosensory evoked potentials (SEP) in these children. We undertook both a retrospective and prospective study in hypothyroid children detected by the Quebec Screening Program and we report here results of SEP, obtained in 20 treated congenitally hypothyroid children age 5–12 as compared to 19 age and sex matched controls.
Two types of abnormalities were observed:
1° Increase (≥ 2 S.D.) in interpeak latencies were seen in 7 children affecting N13–N19 interpeak in 6 patients and N19–P22 in 2 children (one child showed an increased in both).
2° The morphology of the SEP was different in hypothyroid children with the P22 wave being much smaller and biphasic in shape.
These findings suggest that cerebral function is affected, at least electrophysiolocally, in this group of patients even if they are adequately treated. However the clinical significance of these abnormalities is not clear at the present time and is under study.
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Vanasse, M., Laureau, E., Letarte, J. et al. 499 SOMATOSENSORY EVOKED POTENTIALS IN CHILDREN TREATED FOR CONGENITAL HYPOTHYROIDISM. Pediatr Res 19, 194 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198504000-00529
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198504000-00529