Neurological Complications of Hypothyroidism

Impaired memory, slowed mental processing, depression, nerve entrapment syndromes, ataxia, muscle weakness and muscle cramps are the most common neurological symptoms which may be caused by hypothyroidism (Roberts et al, 2004). Disorders of the thyroid gland are among the most common endocrine maladies. Hypothyroidism is the most prevalent form of thyroid disease and symptoms may include memory and learning impairment, depression, psychotic behaviour, retarded locomotor ability, somnolence, progressive intellectual deterioration and, in extreme cases, coma (Anderson, 2001; Smith et al., 2002). Since the thyroid hormones dramatically affect the maturation of specific neuronal populations, the absence of these hormones during the period of active neurogenesis leads to irreversible mental retardation and is accompanied by multiple morphological alterations in the brain (Smith et al., 2002).