Hyperthyroidism - Causes, Symptoms and Treatment

Thyroid is an important gland that is situated somewhere middle of the front side of the neck. Thyroid gland secrets some of the important hormones, known as 'thyroid hormones', that play important role in metabolism of the body. Metabolism is the process through which, the body utilizes the food to get energy. In a case of hyperthyroidism the thyroid gland produces more thyroid hormones than required by the body result of which, the body gets accelerated metabolism. There are many causes of hyperthyroidism

Causes of Hyperthyroidism

The body recognizes the thyroid antigens as foreign, and a chronic immune reaction ensues, resulting in lymphocytic infiltration of the gland and progressive destruction of functional thyroid tissue.

Drugs such as amiodarone, interferon alpha, thalidomide, and stavudine have also been associated with primary hypothyroidism.

One such medication is lithium, which is used to treat certain psychiatric disorders. If you're taking medication, ask your doctor about its effect on your thyroid gland.

Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis- Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, a malfunction of the immune system that causes the body to turn against healthy thyroid cells, is the most common hypothyroidism cause. This autoimmune condition causes loss of thyroid cells due to repeated inflammation from the immune response. Eventually, enough cells are lost to cause the thyroid gland to become ineffective, and it no longer produces sufficient amounts of thyroid hormones.

Symptoms of Hyperthyroidism

The most common symptoms of the hypothyroidism are weight gain and fatigue. Many thousands of women are diagnosed with the disease every year but very few little persons have sufficient information about the thyroid gland.

The thyroid gland is situated at the base of the throat and plays a major role in the regulation of the body’s energetic metabolism. In normal conditions the thyroid gland produces and releases two important hormones with role in the cell metabolism; they induce the transformation of oxygen and calories from food in energy needed by the organism.

Hyperthyroidism Treatment

Three forms of treatment are available for hyperthyroidism. Each of them have their own advantages and limitations and physicians prefer one over the other due to reasons of simplicity, cost and availability and also on the severity of hyperthyroidism, existing illnesses and the age of patient. Each of the possible treatments for an overactive thyroid have some advantages and some disadvantages. In general, all three treatments are highly effective and associated with a low risk of side effects.

Surgery, in most cases of hyperthyroidism is not necessary because the same can be treated effectively with radioisotope therapy. Some patients suffering with Graves' disease however may not tolerate medicines and hence refuse radioiodine and choose surgery instead. Many surgeons think that radioiodine treatment may be unsafe for patients with extraordinarily large glands, or for those whose eyes have started to protrude from their sockets, and hence a large dose of iodide may only aggravate the patient's symptoms. The surgical procedure is rather safe and there are surgeons who conduct partial thyroidectomies for out-patients as well.