By Williss Langford

Consider also the patient’s symptoms: The manifestations of hypothyroidism in children are a little different than in adults. A lecture by Richard S. Wilkinson, MD, and a lecture by Jaques Hertoghe, MD, described some low thyroid symptoms to look for in infants and in very young children. [1] (Not all symptoms need be present to make this diagnosis.) They are:

• jaundice at birthlow birth-weight
• birth defects
• problems with sleep
• developmental delays or mental retardation
• poor muscle tone or flaccidness
• (eg, trouble holding up head, or sitting up, or protrusion of belly due to poor muscle tone)
• low basal body-temperature (morning temp.)
• hyperactivity
• lethargy (fatigue or non-responsiveness)
• hyperlaxity of their joints
• (hands bend easily, or flat feet)
• dry skin
• pale complexion (anemia)
• late teething
• frequent ear or sinus infections
• frequent colds, bronchitis, other infections
• allergies
• asthma
• bedwetting
• eczema
• abnormal fatigue
• difficulty with focusing in school
• poor athletic ability
• mood swings

If the hypothyroidism is severe, the bones will not develop properly. The child will look similar to someone with Down's Syndrome. They might have a wide distance between the eyes, deep nose root and middle bone structure, deep eyes, a big skull, and a flat appearance. The neck will be short; the body will look short with a deep bone structure (chest looks big in proportion to the rest of the body). They may also have a thick edematous tongue that protrudes or has teeth indentations. Other possible symptoms are thick lips, missing the outer third of the eyebrows, dry falling hair or hair that grows slowly; rough dry elbows, and maybe they will develop puffiness under the eyes. Once in a while, you will see a yellow cast to the palms of the hands, or around the eyes and cheeks, due to an inability to convert carotene. (Thus, these kids are likely to be deficient in vitamin A.)

1. Hypothyroidism is also associated with anorexia, anxiety, fears, and aggressiveness, and rage in the young.
2. Sometimes the reduced ability to concentrate and short-term memory loss of hypothyroidism looks like attention deficit disorder (ADD) or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
3. It isn't easy to tell the difference between hypothyroidism and hypoadrenalism, and you should rule out hypoadrenalism before treating the thyroid.
   

Next, look at your last Mineral Panel. Can you have a normal thyroid when zinc, selenium, iodine, tyrosine, Vitamin A, glutathione, and the B-complex are below normal? I think not. Look further to the copper, fluoride, and mercury, if these are high, and they usually are, can you have a normal thyroid? These all suppress the thyroid, as does Soy Milk that is often the major food of the younger ones.

According to Mr. Andreas Schuld of Vancouver, Canada, an authority on fluoride poisoning, mercury is anti-thyroid, a selenium antagonist for sure. It interferes with the three iodinases that convert T4 to T3. Thus, biochemical iodine deficiency is created (Free T3 deficiency, really). The fact is that iodine is not being utilized in the body because there are so many factors destroying it, primarily fluoride. Additionally, a high carbohydrate dietary will create a high, fasting insulin level (Insulin Resistance) that prevents the liver from converting T4 to T3 effectively. If you have a low free T3, you are hypothyroid regardless of what the TSH reading is!

Schuld says that fluoride displaces iodine from its salts in a strictly chemical sense, but this is not what happens here. Fluoride is the universal G-protein activator, mimicking the activity of the TSH receptor that is the only receptor in the body that can activate all G-protein families (the Off/On switches in cell traffic). Fluoride interferes with all activities that are usually mediated by Free T3.

When TSH is low that is because something else is replacing the TSH and doing its work. In this case fluoride - most likely aluminum fluoride complexes [AlF(x)]. Fluoride and TSH are additive. You will find reduced TSH in endemic fluorosis areas, with T4 being elevated, but T3 being low. T4 cannot be elevated unless there is either TSH or agonist stimulation, or conversion problems in liver, both of which apply here. This doesn’t necessarily call for Thyroid Replacement Therapy, or at least only for a time as you support the thyroid nutritionally as suggested in my paper “Mastering Autism”.

The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists recently published new TSH guidelines of 0.3 to 3.0, doubling the estimated numbers with a hypothyroid condition. This does not demand drugs. It demands good nutrition!

What supplements support the thyroid and the conversion of T4 to T3? Tyrosine, zinc, iron, and iodine support the production of T4. Selenium and vitamin E support the conversion of T4 to T3 as does zinc, vitamins A, B-complex, and glutathione (GSH). Glutathione enables the cell to take up T3. Please ensure that your child has all these significantly supplemented in his diet.

Studies show that a deficiency of selenium causes the body to increase the conversion of T4 to T3, which can lead to higher levels of T3. This has been frequently confirmed in children with autism, and chelating when selenium is already low has driven T3 levels to excessive highs. Remember that arsenic also creates high T3 readings. Selenium deficiency is reported to also prevent conversion of T4 to T3. I would assume this seeming conflict is due to differing conditions at the time.

References:

1. 1. Lecture tapes from the Broda Barnes Foundation. www.BrodaBarnes.org, Phone 203-261-2101 Jacque Hertoghe, MD "Clinical Diagnosis of Hypothyroidism" and another lecture by Richard S. Wilkinson, MD entitled "Broda O. Barnes, M.D. Protocol for Treatment of Endocrine Dysfunction" ---- (Urine thyroid tests aren't useful until after puberty.)
2. Aronson, LP, Dodman NH - "Thyroid Dysfunction as a Cause of Aggression in Dogs and Cats." Presented at the 43. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Veterinarmedizinischen Gesellschaft Fachgruppe Kleintierkrankheiten 29-31 August 1997 in HCC Hannover, Germany, where he cited references Whybrow PC. "Behavioral and psychiatric aspects of thyroto-xicosis" and "Behavioral and psychiatric manifestations of hypothyroidism." In Braverman LE, Utiger RD (eds) Werner and Ingbar's The thyroid: a fundamental and clinical text (7th edition). Philadelphia. Lippincott-Ravm 1996:696-700 and 1996:866-870. http://www.beaconforhealth.org/Thyroid-Aggression.htm, and Munoz MT, Argente J. "Anorexia nervosa in female adolescents: endocrine and bone mineral density disturbances." Eur J Endocrinol. 2002 Sep;147(3):275-86. Review
3. Hauser P, Zametkin AJ, Martinez P,et al. Attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder in people with generalized resistance to thyroid hormone. NE JMed, 1993, 328:997-1001.

Posted 02/22/2006