CONGENITAL HYPOTHYROIDISM IN A BORNEAN ORANGUTAN (PONGO PYGMAEUS) AND A SUMATRAN ORANGUTAN (PONGO ABELII)

[helvella]

Judy Dench having just been in Borneo with orangutans, this paper simply could not pass unmentioned.

J Zoo Wildl Med. 2019 Jun 13;50(2):461-465. doi: 10.1638/2018-0041.

CONGENITAL HYPOTHYROIDISM IN A BORNEAN ORANGUTAN (PONGO PYGMAEUS) AND A SUMATRAN ORANGUTAN (PONGO ABELII).

Fayette MA1, Tocidlowski ME2, Brown BP3, Trautman MS3, Bowman MR4.

Author information

1 Indianapolis Zoo, Indianapolis, IN 46222, USA, [e-mail].

2 Houston Zoo, Houston, TX 77030, USA.

3 Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA.

4 Indianapolis Zoo, Indianapolis, IN 46222, USA.

Abstract

Congenital hypothyroidism (CH) in humans is most commonly caused by disruption of thyroid gland development (dysgenesis) or an inherited defect in thyroid hormone biosynthesis (dyshormonogenesis). CH has not been previously documented in great apes. This report describes the clinical presentation, diagnosis, and treatment of CH in a 9-mo-old male Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) and a 6-wk-old female Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii). Primary CH due to thyroid dysgenesis was confirmed in the Bornean orangutan using sonography and radioisotope scintigraphy. Although commercial thyroid immunoassays are not validated for use in orangutans, in comparison to age-matched controls, thyroid-stimulating hormone level was markedly elevated, and serum thyroxine (T4) and free T4 levels were markedly decreased in both cases. Oral supplementation with levothyroxine sodium resulted in noticeable clinical improvement in both orangutans within 30 days of initiating treatment.

Copyright 2019 by American Association of Zoo Veterinarians.

KEYWORDS:

Congenital; Pongo abelii; Pongo pygmaeus; endocrinopathy; hypothyroidism; orangutan

PMID: 31260215

DOI: 10.1638/2018-0041

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/312...

[m7-cola]

I wonder if the animals were offered antidepressants too!

[Greekchick in reply to m7-cola]

😂😂😂

[ZippyAppletush in reply to m7-cola]

Thanks for making my morning! 😂😂😂

[TSH110 in reply to m7-cola]

I bet they’d have chosen NDT given the option!

[Mary-intussuception]

Thanks for this helvella.

Haven't seen the TV programme.

[ZippyAppletush]

Thank you SO much for posting this, helvella ! Delving further into the links I find myself described to a ‘T’...on this occasion quite happy to find myself in the company of the likes of Clyde (Clint Eastwood’s famous sidekick!) and his VIP cohorts! 😂 (Very Important Pongos!)

[BlueMoon65]

Surely this provokes questions about hormone disruption...or the effects of trauma/stress on primates? Were these females, I wonder...

[Hidden in reply to BlueMoon65]

yes I imagine these were zoo animals not wild and running around the jungle where they would not be exposed to traffic pollution and the kinds of stress associated with being captive.

[RockyPath]

This begs the question, did the orangutans actually feel better after treatment, and have better quality of life, or were the humans simply drawing their conclusions based on a reduction of TSH?

Thank you for always finding the interesting, thought-provoking news.

[vocalEK]

I hope someone teaches them the sign-language for "Cytomel" or "T3" just in case.