February, 2001

by Mary J. Shomon

According to the January 2001 issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, research into the thyroid status of individuals living in Antarctica is revealing information that may help people cope with wintertime depression in warmer climates.

The researchers discovered that treatment with thyroid hormone can improve a condition called "polar T3 syndrome," -- essentially, a cold-induced form of hypothyroidism experienced by resarchers spending periods in Antartica -- that causes impaired cognitive skills and thinking, and bad moods.

The reseachers demonstrated that treatment with thyroid hormone could be useful to treat this syndrome. The researchers speculate that when living in extreme cold, muscles will hoard thyroid hormone in order to maintain body temperature, leaving the brain depleted of thyroid hormone. So, the addition of thyroid hormone helped to return the brain to proper function, aiding thinking skills and relivieng depression. Their findings also suggest that thyroid hormone treatment may also be an aid in treating "winter depression" or seasonal affective disorders (SAD) that affect people in warmer climates, and the researchers recommend that this be studied as a possible treatment for SAD.

(The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 2001;86:110)