Down Syndrome, Thyroid, and Body Temperature

Down Syndrome is when a person is born with all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21.  It is the most common chromosome abnormality in humans.  The incidence of Down Syndrome increases dramatically as the age of the mother at time of pregnancy increases above 40 years of age.  People with Down Syndrome tend to have developmental delays and slower and less physical growth (they tend to be smaller in stature).

People with Down Syndrome are also more likely to develop cancer, thyroid disorders, eye and hearing disorders, as well as other difficulties.

The incidence of hypothyroidism is several times higher in people with Down Syndrome than it is in people without Down Syndrome.  People with Down Syndrome should be screened annually for hypothyroidism because of the increased incidence but also because of the overlap between the symptoms of hypothyroidism and the symptoms of Down Syndrome.  Because mental ability and growth can be affected by both hypothyroidism and Down Syndrome, it is easy to dismiss these symptoms as coming from the Down Syndrome, rather than being alerted by the symptoms that there may be a treatable underlying problem developing.

If it is easy to overlook hypothyroidism (which shows up on thyroid blood tests) in people with Down Syndrome, imagine how much easier it is to overlook Wilson’s Temperature Syndrome (which doesn’t show up on thyroid blood tests) in people with Down Syndrome.  Caregivers ought to take the temperatures of people with Down Syndrome to see if they are normal or low.

Interestingly, some doctors have reported that patients treated with T3 therapy for WTS have noticed a lot of improvement in patients with Down Syndrome, not only in their learning abilities and alertness, but to some degree, in their facial features as well (perhaps less fluid retention?).

For T3 therapy, you can find a caring and qualified doctor on our list.