General Information About Cretinism
Disease Details and Frequently Asked Questions
It is a severe disease where mental and physical development halts due to the lack of thyroid gland function (congenital hypothyroidism) in babies while in the womb or immediately after birth.
It is caused by the baby's inability to synthesize thyroid hormone as a result of the thyroid gland not forming at all while in the womb, developing in the wrong place (e.g., at the base of the tongue), or the mother experiencing severe iodine deficiency during pregnancy.
Thyroid hormone is the most vital substance for a baby's brain development. If the hormone is not given within the first few months after birth, irreversible severe intellectual disability, deafness, and muteness become permanent in the baby.
In babies whose treatment is delayed; a thick and protruding large tongue, coarse facial features, an umbilical hernia, excessive sleepiness, inability to feed, prolonged newborn jaundice, and short stature (dwarfism) are observed.
To catch the disease before intellectual disability begins, 'Heel Blood' (heel prick test) is taken from every baby within the first week after birth. If high levels of the TSH hormone are detected with this test, the disease is definitively diagnosed before it even shows symptoms.
Its treatment is miraculously easy and effective. Synthetic thyroid hormone (Levothyroxine) drops are immediately started orally for the early-diagnosed baby. Babies whose hormone deficiency is remedied grow up as 100% normal, healthy children in terms of intelligence and height.
Our health library contents are prepared for informational purposes only and with scientific data available at the time of recording. For all your questions, concerns, diagnosis, or treatment regarding your health, please consult your doctor or a healthcare institution.
