A review on post-puberty hypothyroidism: a glance at myxedema

Hypothyroidism, is a thyroid disorder accompanied by serum thyroid hormone reduction when thyroxin T4, the main thyroid hormone, reduced, it is followed by disruption of a negative-feed back auto regulatory mechanism on pituitary gland and subsequent thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) which is released into the blood circulation to stimulate the thyroid gland to produce enough thyroid hormone to compensate for the body hormone requirements. Therefore, reduced serum thyroxin(T4) in principle, triidothyronine (T3) and elevated TSH are laboratory indices for the diagnosis of hypothyroidism. At early stage of hypothyroidism although laboratory measurements of thyroid function test are manifest the thyroid disorder but the patient clinical signs and symptoms may remain unnoticed. If the patient undiagnosed and untreated the condition of hypothyroidism worsen and the clinical manifestation begin to show itself and myxedema is a definition given to the whole picture of untreated hypothyroidism at very end stage the patients enter into myxedema comma with eventual death due to the sever symptoms of hypothyroidism. Among important causative factors leading to catastrophic events in myxedema is life threatening hypothermia, heart and cerebral dysfunctions.