Losing memory? A thyroid test might be your answer

Have you developed a problem in recalling names, figures and other daily things of life, or face difficulty in concentrating or memorising?
    
While stress might be one reason, chances are also that you might be a patient of hypothyroidism.
    
Hypothyroidism, or lack in production of thyroid hormones, which is known to manifest itself with symptoms like fatigue, weakness, weight loss, irritability or intolerance to cold also bears links to cases of memory loss, doctors say.
    
"Hypothyroidism is a condition when too little thyroid hormone is released and in such case body's metabolic rate decreases, slowing down the body and also the mind," says Dr Vandana Lal of Dr Lal Path Labs.
    
The symptoms are therefore often mistakenly attributed to other conditions or disorders, she said.
    
While it has long been established that thyroid disorders can impact the brain, and by extension, the emotional and mental states of patients with thyroid disorders, the whys' and hows' of a direct link between hypothyroidism and memory loss are still to be known.
    
The lack in production of thyroid hormones generally slows down all systems of the body, including its reflexes. While it does not lead to a complete amnesia like situation, it is manifested in reduced ability to recall things quickly, said Dr Ambreesh Mittal, endocrinologist at Indraprastha Appollo Hospital.

"The T4 hormone produced by thyroid glands is vital for many functions of the body, including functioning of nerves, muscles and even brain. a reduction in its production logically reflects in the general slowing down of the body.
    
"It would become difficult for a person with thyroid disorder, for example, to follow fast repetitive movements," Mittal said.
    
While in older people, the loss in memory is more evident, in younger people or children it is found to lead to poor concentration and drop in school performance, said Dr Archana Arya of Ganga Ram hospital.
    
"However, it is not a very rampant symptom and cases of memory loss due to hypothyroidism per se are difficult to sift out from other cases," she said, adding, the condition presents itself through a number of manifestations.
    
In cases below three years of age, thyroid deficiency causes permanent damage in the form of mental or physical retardation. But if developed by adults it is reparable and curable with simple treatments, the doctor said.
    
The symptoms of hypothyroidism are vague, believes Dr Sat Dham of Gurgaon-based Umkal Healthcare.

"While the patient might be suffering from this disorder, the symptoms might look like overlapping with a number of diseases. It is therefore vital to make blood screening for thyroid hormone a routine test as this is a fairly curable disorder," he said.
    
An auto-immune disease, which is more common in women than in men, hypothyroidism results when the immune system mistakenly directs an immune attack against its own healthy cells creating anti-bodies against the thyroid gland.
    
The disorder is also genetic in some cases and might also be caused by a surgery that removes a benign or malignant portion of a thyRoid gland.
    
The easiest and most effective treatment is taking a thyroid hormone pill, Levothyroxine, which is a pure synthetic form of T4 hormone secreted by the thyroid glands.