The thyroid is a very important gland in every system of the human body, it is located in the inner part of the throat, just below a protrusion known as the Adam's apple, and its size only reaches 15 ml, despite its small shape it performs great functions in our body. Let's get to know a little about the functions of this gland?
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The thyroid has a well known shape and let's say exotic, the appearance of a butterfly, as mentioned it is located on the front of the neck, ie, in the inner part of the throat, this gland is responsible for producing hormones that are extremely necessary for the proper functioning of our entire body and organism, the T3 and T4 hormones are present in all phases of our life, such as growth, regulates heart rate, sleep, reasoning, memory, body temperature, proper functioning of the intestine and especially of our metabolism, in addition, it has great importance in the formation of fetal organs, especially the nervous system central.
It is small compared to other organs in the human body, but as we can see, it has great functions, and if these functions suffer any consequences during life, it can harm the functioning of our entire organism.
The thyroid can be affected by several diseases such as hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, benign nodules or goiters, thyroid cancer.
First, let's talk about Hypothyroidism, which prevents the production of hormones T3 (triiodothyronine) and T4 (thyroxine), which, as we have seen, are of great importance for the functioning of our body, if it is affected it can cause Hypothyroidism, the main symptoms they are:
It mainly affects elderly women, reaching 5% to 9% of cases, it can also affect men, but the percentage does not reach 0.3%.
In some cases it can even affect newborns, called hypothyroidism of congenital origin, it is easily identified by the heel prick test, the number of newborns affected by the disease is large, reaching more than 3 thousand cases.
The treatment is carried out through the replacement of thyroid hormones, with small doses ensuring the maintenance of TSH hormone levels at normal values.
If there is no correct treatment, it can lead to serious problems, such as affecting the physical and mental part of the individual, the increase in cholesterol level, and the high possibility of developing problems later on. cardiac
HYPERTHYROIDISM: Unlike hypothyroidism, this disease is caused by large amounts of hormones, that is, their excess in production of the gland, in Brazil there are more than 150 thousand cases per year, that is, a very high number, it can lead to other illnesses. The main symptoms are:
Hypothyroidism mainly affects women aged between 20 and 40 years. Elderly people usually don't have as many symptoms.
Risk factors can involve people who use alcohol excessively, lack of daily exercise and smoking.
Diagnosis is performed through tests that measure the level of hormones, the test identifies whether T3 and T4 hormones are in excess levels.
Treatment can occur through specific antithyroid drugs and radioactive iodine that permanently destroys the disease, both of which do not are effective in the treatment, because after some time the disease can manifest again, in some cases there may be a need for surgery.
Thyroid nodules affect a large part of the Brazilian population, reaching 60% of cases already evaluated, but only 5% have more severe nodules, such as malignant tumors, which may or may not have symptoms frequent.
It is still not well known how nodules appear in our body, but it may be directly linked to Hashimoto's disease, which causes hypothyroidism.
As already mentioned, nodules do not have as many symptoms, but if they are stimulated or touched, it can cause:
Non-cancerous nodules do not necessarily need specific treatment, it is just It is important to go to the doctor and undergo tests to see what types of nodules are present. on body.
Thyroid cancer develops through nodules found in the body, this occurs when the nodules grow in the thyroid quickly, if not treated immediately, it has a high chance of to spread.
Most people who have cancer usually don't have specific symptoms, but it's important to look for certain appearance of lumps, these lumps can be the nodules, it is extremely important to perform frequent routine.
Treatment may involve surgery, radioactive iodine, external radiation, and more severe cases entering chemotherapy, which eliminates cancer cells.
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