This volume is the newest release in the authoritative series issued by the National Academy of Sciences on dietary reference intakes (DRIs). This series provides recommended intakes, such as Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs), for use in planning nutritionally adequate diets for individuals based on age and gender. In addition, a new reference intake, the Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL), has also been established to assist an individual in knowing how much is "too much" of a nutrient. Based on the Institute of Medicine's review of the scientific literature regarding dietary micronutrients, recommendations have been formulated regarding vitamins A and K, iron, iodine, chromium, copper, manganese, molybdenum, zinc, and other potentially beneficial trace elements such as boron to determine the roles, if any, they play in health. The book also: Reviews selected components of food that may influence the bioavailability of these compounds. Develops estimates of dietary intake of these compounds that are compatible with good nutrition throughout the life span and that may decrease risk of chronic disease where data indicate they play a role. Determines Tolerable Upper Intake levels for each nutrient reviewed where adequate scientific data are available in specific population subgroups. Identifies research needed to improve knowledge of the role of these micronutrients in human health. This book will be important to professionals in nutrition research and education.

The disorders induced by iodine deficiency affect at least one billion people. Because ofits effects on brain development, iodinedeficiency is the single most preventable cause of mental retardation in the world. Therefore, the United Nations and the Heads of State of almost all the world's countries represented at the Summit for Children in 1990 adopted resolutions to eradicate the disorders induced by iodine deficiency (IDD) by the year 2000. For geological and socio-economic reasons, most of the populations affected by iodine deficiency disorders live in isolated and usually mountainous areas, in pre industrialized parts ofthe world. The problem of iodine deficiency in Europe has been greatly underestimated in the last decades. After the remarkable studies on the effects of iodine deficiency and their prevention and correction in Switzerland, IDD was generally considered no longer a significant public health problem in Europe. However, surveys carried out in the early 1980's under the auspices of the European Thyroid Association, clearly demonstrated the persistence of moderately or even severely affected areas. These surveys also highlighted the lack ofinformation about large parts ofEurope, especially its eastern part. It is only quite recently, following major changes in international relations and thanks to the support of UNICEF, WHO, the International Council for the Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders and the European Thyroid Association, that more extensive surveys have been conducted in several parts of Europe hitherto almost unexplored. These surveys showed that most European countries were iodine deficient.

Over two billion people worldwide are at risk for the spectrum of disorders known as "The Iodine Deficiency Disorders." 1-10% will suffer cretinism; 5-30% will have some sort of brain damage or neurological impairment and 30-70% will be hypothyroid. The causes of iodine deficiencies can be considered from both simplistic and more complex perspectives: From the leaching of iodine from soil resulting in crops with low iodine content to malnutrition resulting in impaired iodine absorption. Poor dietary diversification and impoverished socio-economic development can also lead to iodine deficiencies. Although it is possible to diagnose and treat deficiencies, there is still an ongoing dialogue regarding the detailed molecular pathology of iodine homeostatis, how hypothyroidism impacts the body tissues, and efficient diagnosis and treatment of the Iodine Deficiency Disorders. This Handbook provides a resource of information on the various pathways and processes based on different countries or diseases. Because there is a constant flow of new information on iodine and related disorders, the goal of this Handbook is to provide a base of scientific information upon which additional knowledge can be applied. - Provides important information on one of the most common micro-nutrient deficiencies in the world, the most important "single nutrient-multiple consequences" paradigm today - Includes information on iodine-related diseases, including those that are common, preventable and treatable - Provides insight from a broad perspective of viewpoints -- from subcellular transports to economic impact

This book is an up-to-date and comprehensive guide to all the common thyroid disorders that may be seen by internists, endocrinologists, nuclear medicine physicians, and endocrine surgeons. While the fundamentals of thyroid hormone function and regulation in health and disease are well covered, the primary focus is on the clinical approach to thyroid disease, with detailed coverage of both initial diagnosis and management and the role of imaging. Because most endocrine diseases are chronic and lifelong, special emphasis is placed on long-term management and the common pitfalls that may be encountered by the clinician. The editors are internationally acknowledged leaders in the field of thyroid disease and have gathered an outstanding team of authors, all of whom are also highly expert in their respective areas, but who, equally importantly, write in a clear and lucid style. The numerous isotope scan and ultrasonographic images ensure that the book will serve as a valuable reference atlas to which the physician will return again and again.

Responding to a renewed interest in the growing problem of iodine deficiency worldwide, Drs. Charles Oxnard and Peter Obendorf, along with experienced translator and anatomist John Dennison, take a fresh look at the classic text, Der endemische Kretinismus, published in 1936 by Springer. Translated here for the first time into English, this landmark text will be a welcome resource for researchers confronting the problem of iodine deficiency. Oxnard and Obendorf point out that there is very little detailed knowledge or numerical data on cretinism available in the English-speaking world. In addition, highly-renowned Professor Basil S. Hetzel, recently-retired World Health Organization Chairman of the International Council for Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders, published in 2009 with Dr Chen Zu-pei on the resurgence of iodine deficiency in China. Indeed, throughout the entire developing world there may be as many as two billion people at risk to iodine deficiency; perhaps three quarters of a billion have goiter, and ten million may be cretins. Even in developed countries, iodine deficiency is re-emerging (as in New South Wales in 19% of children) with the result of significantly reduced numbers of gifted children (though this is not cretinism per se). Certain to be of significant interest to a wide range of researchers, health providers and professionals, including government health administrators, this English translation of Endemic Cretinism is a major contribution to the literature.

This volume contains the proceedings of a conference held at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda on March 21-23. 1988. jointly sponsored by the International Council for Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders (ICCIDD) and the Fogarty International Center of the National Institutes of Health. Several themes converged to make this meeting timely. The first is an increasing awareness of iodine deficiency disorders as a world-wide problem of public health and a preventable cause of mental deficiency. and as a subject of scientific effort. Increased interest in these problems owes a great deal to accessibility to remote and under developed areas of the world where iodine deficiency persists. As with any subject. greater scrutiny yields unexpected complexity and interest. It is true that provision of iodine. typically as iodized salt, is the necessary and sufficient preventative for iodine deficiency disorders. without including endemic cretinism. This provision is a governmental, economic and social problem. Apart from this, however, the scientific and medical problem of iodine deficiency and its effect on brain development and function is one of great interest and importance for developmental neurology and psychology. Even though the specific preventative agent is known, we do not totally understand the neurobiological questions raised.

Iodine is an essential micronutrient and an integral component of the thyroid hormones, which are required for normal growth and development. The iodine deficiency disorders (IDD) encompass a spectrum of adverse health effects including goiter, cretinism, hypothyroidism, growth retardation, and increased pregnancy loss and infant mortality. This volume summarizes the current understanding of the effects of iodine deficiency as well as iodine excess. It also discusses best practices for salt iodization, the mainstay of global IDD prevention efforts, and other forms of food fortification. The effectiveness of iodine supplementation for vulnerable populations, an evolving strategy in many regions, is also described. Low level environmental exposure to chemicals such as perchlorate and thiocyanate, which competitively block thyroidal iodine uptake, appears to be ubiquitous worldwide. There has been recent concern that such environmental exposures might pose a health hazard by inducing or aggravating underlying thyroid dysfunction. This up-to-date volume explores both the effects of iodine deficiency as well as the best strategies for IDD prevention.

This book will provide readers with up-to-date information on thyroid diseases, obesity and metabolic syndrome. The innovative element is the presentation and exploration of possible connections linking thyroid diseases and metabolism dysfunction. Starting from the classification and diagnosis of thyroid diseases, obesity and metabolic syndrome, techniques to study and treat each of the mentioned diseases are given in an easy-to-use way. This volume will be a useful tool for endocrinologists, diabetologists, dieticians, and any professionals involved in the treatment of thyroid diseases.

The exponential increases in neurodevelopmental disorders implicate both genetic causes and environmental factors. Flame-retardants, pesticides, plasticizers, and other every-day products contain chemicals shown to affect thyroid hormone signaling, which if disrupted can result in significant impairment to IQ. Across entire populations, such effects spell large-scale social and economic consequences. In this book Barbara Demeneix suggests what can and must be done to halt and reverse this disturbing trend.