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Q: Is iodine deficiency the most common cause of preventable mental retardation and brain damage in the world?
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Why is aspartoacylase deficiency bad?

This deficiency ultimately results in progressive damage to the brain and nervous system and causes mental retardation, seizures, tremors , muscle weakness, blindness and an increase in head size


If a woman has a severe iodine deficiency during pregnancy her child may have?

Iodine deficiency is especially important in women who are pregnant or nursing their infants. Severe iodine deficiency in the mother has been associated with miscarriages, stillbirth, preterm delivery, and congenital abnormalities in their babies. Children of mothers with severe iodine deficiency during pregnancy can have mental retardation and problems with growth, hearing, and speech. In the most severe form, an under active thyroid can result in cretinism (a syndrome characterized by permanent brain damage, mental retardation, deaf mutism, spasticity, and short stature), though this is not seen in the United States. Congenital hypothyroidism due to iodine deficiency is the most common preventable cause of mental retardation in the world. Even mild iodine deficiency during pregnancy, which may be present in some women in the United States, may be associated with low intelligence in children. 1 SYMPTOMS Page 1 of 3 1 What is iodine deficiency? Iodine is an element that is needed for the production of thyroid hormone. The body does not make iodine, so it is an essential part of your diet. Iodine is found in various foods (see Table 1). If you do not have enough iodine in your body, you cannot make enough thyroid hormone. Thus, iodine deficiency can lead to enlargement of the thyroid (goiter - see Goiter brochure), hypothyroidism (see Hypothyroidism brochure) and to mental retardation in infants and children whose mothers were iodine deficient during pregnancy. Before the 1920s, iodine deficiency was common in the Great Lakes, Appalachian, and Northwestern U.S. regions and in most of Canada. Treatment of iodine deficiency by the introduction of iodized salt has virtually eliminated the "goiter belt" in these areas. However, many other parts of the world do not have enough iodine available through their diet and iodine deficiency continues to be an important public health problem globally. Approximately 40% of the world's population remains at risk for iodine deficiency.


What are the long-term effects of a stroke?

You're talking about damage to the brain. It depends on where the stroke occured, but the effects could be anything, from spasms to memory loss (most common) to mental retardation, etc.


Why do they do a phenylketonuria test?

Because if it is left untreated it can cause brain damage and severe mental retardation


How cann toxins damage to prenatal that cause Mental Retardation?

Toxins can cause damage to the prenatal fetus that can result in mental retardation by interferring with brain development. It can occur at any time during the pregancy, that is what pregnant women have to be very careful about what they come in contact with and what they consume.


What type of injury can lead to mental retardation in children?

Traumatic brain injury caused by a blow or a violent shake to the head may also cause brain damage and mental retardation in children.


What hormone deficiency causes hearing loss?

Thyroid Hormone Deficiency causes Irreversible damage to Peripheral and Central Auditory Systems...


What inflammations and infections of the brain can cause mental retardation?

An infection of the membrane covering the brain (meningitis) or an inflammation of the brain itself (encephalitis) cause swelling that in turn may cause brain damage and mental retardation.


What are the main problems associated with bulimia?

Vitamin deficiency dehydration kidney damage


What damage can be done to an infant from congenital HSV infection?

This can seriously damage the newborn's eyes, central nervous system, and internal organs, lead to mental retardation and, rarely, death.


What makes mental retardation happen in the womb?

Mental retardation could be the result of a number of things. These include an accident that resulted in physical damage to the baby's brain despite the cushioning effect of the fluid in the womb, chemical substances exchanged between the mother and the embryo through the placenta. Sometimes mental retardation is inherited from one or both parents through the genes or genetic damage occurs as cells divide in the early stages of pregnancy.


What maternal conditions that interrupt oxygen flow can cause mental retardation in the fetus?

When the mother has high blood pressure (hypertension ) or blood poisoning (toxemia), the flow of oxygen to the fetus may be reduced, causing brain damage and mental retardation.