Dementia Due to Hypothyroidism

Hypothyroidism is a medical condition that occurs when your thyroid gland does not produce enough of certain chemicals or hormones required for proper functioning. Dementia is a commonly overlooked symptom of the condition that often becomes misdiagnosed.

Causes

There are a number of possible causes of hypothyroidism, including an attack of your immune system upon the gland, a genetic predisposition to the disease, medications like lithium and damage to the gland from an injury, surgery or radiation treatment for cancer.

Symptoms

Symptoms of dementia due to hypothyroidism include changes in mood or personality, aggression, confusion, visual or auditory hallucinations and cognitive impairment.

Features

Often, the symptoms of dementia due to hypothyroidism develop slowly over a period of months or even years, making it easy to mistake for age-related dementia in elderly patients. Sometimes other symptoms due to hypothyroidism accompany the dementia, such as unexplained weight gain or extreme fatigue, but this is not always the case.

Diagnosis

Doctors rely on a blood test that measures levels of thyroid hormones in your body to diagnose hypothyroidism.

Prognosis

Dementia due to hypothyroidism is usually reversible with treatment of the glandular condition. Doctors commonly treat the condition with a prescription medication that is a synthetic version of thyroid hormones.

References

• Hypothyroidism Information
• Dementia Information
• Hypothyroidism Presenting as Psychosis