Hypothyroidism linked to mood swings

Thyroid hormone replacement therapy may not resolve hypothyroid linked mood swings Hypothyroidism is often associated with mood changes like depression and lethargy. Researchers, studying underlying brain processes in search of "why" this happens, have reported their results at the 54th Annual Meeting of SNM, the world's largest society for molecular imaging and nuclear medicine professionals. "The aim of our study was to investigate — with positron emission tomography (PET) imaging — how physical health and mental health are interrelated," said Waltraud Eichhorn, a nuclear medicine physician at Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany. "We found that hypothyroidism is correlated to regional metabolic changes in the thalamus — an area of the brain that helps process information from the senses and transmit it to other parts of the brain" she said. "In other words, hypothyroid patients — compared to healthy individuals — have decreased metabolism in special parts of the brain that are responsible for processing information," said Eichhorn. "Remarkably, this reduction in metabolism remains detectable after thyroid hormone replacement therapy," she added. The thyroid, a butterfly-shaped gland in the neck just above the collarbone, is an endocrine gland that makes hormones and helps set the body's metabolism (how the body gets energy from food). Hypothyroidism, a condition in which the body produces too little thyroid hormone, often leads to exhaustion and depression, affecting millions, particularly women and the elderly. There are 27 million Americans who have underactive or overactive thyroid glands, but more than half remain undiagnosed, according to recent statistics. Hypothyroidism can be treated by doses of thyroid hormone. Once the blood levels of thyroid hormone reach a normal range lethargy and depression often lift. However, in some patients the depression persists, which means that it must be treated directly with drugs and/or psychotherapy. Eichhorn WA, Bose K, Buchholz H, Siessmeier T, et al. Neuronal Correlates of Overt Hypothyroidism Measured by FDG PET SNM's 54th Annual Meeting 2007 Jun; Scientific Poster 1228. (Source: Latest entries from www.anxietyinsights.info)