Endocrine Abstracts

The wealth of new information, published over the past two decades, has led an international committee (under the auspices of the American Endocrine Society) to propose clinical guidelines for the management of thyroid diseases associated with the pregnant state. These guidelines were reviewed and endorsed by the four world Thyroid Associations (ETA, ATA, LATS, AOTA) and the Endocrine Society. They have been published in August 2007 as a supplement to the Journal of Clinical E...

The human thyroid gland acquires a differentiation program as early as weeks 3–4 of embryonic development. The onset of functional differentiation, which manifests by the appearance of colloid in thyroid follicles, takes place during gestation weeks10–11. By 12–13 weeks functional differentiation is accomplished and the thyroid is capable of producing thyroid hormones although at a low level. During maturation, thyroid hormones yield increases and physiological ...