Studies of the thyroid function in children with Down's syndrome

The thyroid function (T-3 triiodothyronine; T-4 tetraiodothyronine and the captation of the I131 through the thyroid, in 2 and 24 hours after the intake of isotope radium), was studied in patients with Down's syndrome and the results being compared to those obtained from the respective siblings, all clinically normal. The comparative results showed no significant differences, except in the 2 hours captation of the I131 through the thyroid (P smaller than 0.01). The findings suggest that the hypothalamus-hypophysary or the response of the thyroid gland would be slow, but compensated when analyzed after 24 hours.