Acute hypothyroidism leads to reversible alterations in central nervous system as revealed by somatosensory evoked potentials.

Although functional alterations in the central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral nerves are well documented in overt hypothyroidism, little is known about alterations of CNS in acute hypothyroidism. Sixteen patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma were studied when prepared for radioiodine scanning after stopping levothyroxine (L-T4) therapy for 6 weeks to determine whether acute hypothyroidism leads to alteration in somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEPs). Repeat SSEPs were performed on the same patients at 6 months following L-T4 therapy when patients were euthyroid. Neurophysiological findings were compared with a group of 20 normal controls with no history of thyroid disease. Peripheral and central conduction in the median and tibial nerve stimulated SSEPs studied. A significant prolongation of central conduction time in SSEPs was found in patients with acute hypothyroidism when compared to those in control subjects. Abnormal latencies were not correlated with thyroid hormone levels. These neurophysiologic abnormalities were completely restored to normal at 6 months after L-T4 therapy. We conclude that acute hypothyroidism leads to reversible alterations in CNS as determined by SSEP recordings. Our results also suggest that SSEPs could be useful tests to monitor functional alteration of the CNS in acute hypothyroidism.