The metabolic alterations within the normal appearing brain in patients with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis are correlated with hormonal changes

[asidist]

Wanted to share this article in case it has not been posted previously (didn't find a previous posting using the Search box). Came across this looking for information on thyroid autoimmunity and cognitive functioning / cerebral inflammation.

link.springer.com/article/1...

Bladowska, J., Waliszewska-Prosół, M., Ejma, M. et al. The metabolic alterations within the normal appearing brain in patients with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis are correlated with hormonal changes. Metab Brain Dis 34, 53–60 (2019). doi.org/10.1007/s11011-018-...

[liekki]

Thanks for the link.

My brain is metabolically impaired this morning so I just skimmed through it, but interesting stuff.

I've been hypothesizing that reduced blood flow might explain some of the cognitive impairment seen in hypothyroidism.

[asidist in reply to liekki]

Ha! Ditto - was pretty mentally shot when I originally read and posted this but seemed clear there were some notable take-aways. I think most simply this article provides clear scientific evidence that individuals who have Hashimoto's, and particularly the longer they have it, have altered brain functioning despite being treated and having a normal TSH, and that there is some correlation with FT3 levels.

I did come across articles that tied cognitive difficulty in those that have Hashimoto's to inflammation - I'll try to go back and see if I can find those links to include here too. I can't even remember exactly what I was trying to achieve with digging up all that research (these days if I don't write it down, it's soon lost in the ether of my brain) except that I am really struggling to function like a normal person cognitively and feeling desperate to try to connect some dots and find possible solutions.

[Baobabs]

Firstly, thank you for the post. Any research on thyroid disease has to be welcome amidst a backcloth of what appears to be very little. I found the research quite difficult to follow and has obviously been written for medical professionals ears. The following quote from the conclusion:

‘In our opinion, MRS could be a sensitive marker of early cerebral metabolic disturbances associated with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis’.

Though an interesting conclusion I find it ironic that the results of more basic and usual testing particularly for Hashimoto's is frequently ignored by medics as an indicator to begin treatment. Though of interest this research may be, I cannot see more expensive diagnosis as suggested in this paper either being adopted for use or having the potential to alert doctors any more than the existing testing we have.

[asidist in reply to Baobabs]

Hi Baobabs, totally agree. A lot of the details are over my head. I re-read a bit more carefully and am going to see if I can get my brother, who is in medicine, to review the article with me as well and will comment again. As I noted above, I did think it was meaningful that the article provided clear evidence of altered functioning in Hashimoto's patients despite normal TSH.