What Is Thyroid Disease

What is a thyroid gland? How much do people understand about it? The organ is located at the base of the neck, surrounding the trachea. This seemingly insignificant body part plays a vital role in maintaining optimal development and ensuring the balance of an organism's central nervous system. In cases where it malfunctions, endocrine diseases may arise.

There are three types of treatment for hyperthyroidism. They are antithyroid drugs (ATD), radioactive therapy (RAI) and surgery with the first type of treatment being the most common and the last being rare (Isaacs and Ruggieri, 2004). The use of immunosuppressive drugs has an advantage over other more dangerous measures such as radiation therapy and surgery. This is largely because oral medication is more affordable and perceived as less life threatening.

Some experts have attested to the effectiveness of surgical methods of treatment, but others still refute this belief. Instead, they claimed that any undestroyed thyroid tissue might redevelop after the operation, causing another bout of hormonal attack on the victim. Hanna and Lafranchi (2002) further highlighted that almost half of the patients who had surgery became hyperthyroid; another 1.2 % reported to have lost their ability to speak and a small percentage of patients died as a result. Indeed, this verified how crucial it was to involve a veteran endocrine specialist in carrying out the thyroid removal surgery as any minor mistakes could result in irreversible damage to the patient's health or even death.

Many different organ systems can be affected by the presence of abnormal levels of thyroid hormone resulting in a whole host of symptoms. There are a number of treatments available for diseases related to the thyroid. Individuals suspecting of having thyroid complications should consult with the physician for diagnosis and evaluation.