The role of thyroid hormones in prenatal and neonatal neurological development—current perspectives
SP Porterfield, CE Hendrich - Endocrine reviews, 1993 - academic.oup.com
SP Porterfield, CE Hendrich
Endocrine reviews, 1993•academic.oup.comI. Introduction F OR YEARS thyroid hormones have been known to be important for normal
neonatal brain development, and numerous reviews have covered this topic in depth. It now
also appears that fetal thyroid hormones play an essential role in fetal brain development. In
addition, as some placental transport of thyroid hormones has been shown to occur, it is
possible that maternal thyroid hormones might influence fetal brain development. II. The
Value of the Use of Animal Models in the Comprehension of the Role of Thyroid Hormones …
neonatal brain development, and numerous reviews have covered this topic in depth. It now
also appears that fetal thyroid hormones play an essential role in fetal brain development. In
addition, as some placental transport of thyroid hormones has been shown to occur, it is
possible that maternal thyroid hormones might influence fetal brain development. II. The
Value of the Use of Animal Models in the Comprehension of the Role of Thyroid Hormones …
I. Introduction
FOR YEARS thyroid hormones have been known to be important for normal neonatal brain development, and numerous reviews have covered this topic in depth. It now also appears that fetal thyroid hormones play an essential role in fetal brain development. In addition, as some placental transport of thyroid hormones has been shown to occur, it is possible that maternal thyroid hormones might influence fetal brain development.
II. The Value of the Use of Animal Models in the Comprehension of the Role of Thyroid Hormones in Neurological Development
Animal models have been used to study the influence of thyroid hormones on neurological] evelopment. Rats and mice have been the primary animals studied; however, a significant amount of data have come from studies on sheep and nonhuman primates. While the merit of application of animal data to human problems is frequently questioned, valuable information can be obtained when the animal data are properly interpreted. Furthermore, most of the information obtained from animal experiments would be unavailable from humans.
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