The thyroid synthesizes thyroxine (T4) and 3,5,3 '-triiodothyronine (T3), both hormones have a crucial role in the development of the central nervous system, including the retina and visual system. The decrease in blood levels of T3 and T4 causes a syndrome called hypothyroidism, which may lead to visual impairment. The visual deficits generated by hypothyroidism are directly related to the development period of the individual. It has been demonstrated in murine models that congenital hypothyroidism decreases the retinal thickness, the number of cells and interferes with the differentiation of M cones. Here, we investigated the possible functional changes in juvenile rat’s retina after bilateral thyroidectomy using noninvasive electrophysiological responses. Therefore, we divided the rats into three groups (control, sham and thyreoidectomized) each containing n≥8 animals. The surgeries were performed 30 days post-natal and the full-field electroretinogram (ERG) were performed 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 days after surgery, using standard protocols for assessing the scotopic response maximum, photopic response (with and without the use of light filters) and response to flicker (12, 15, 18 and 30 Hz). The parameters analyzed were implicit time and amplitude of a- and b-waves of ERG. We also perform monitoring of clinical parameters of animals in order to identify characteristics that indicate a hypothyroidism, as well as the dosage of thyroid hormones. The results showed that there was a decrease in the a- and b-waves amplitudes in thyroidectomy animals (10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 days after surgery), compared to control and sham animals at all the stimulation protocols used in ERG. The results of the evaluation of the implicit time for both waves showed none statistical difference when comparing to control and sham groups. Also we observed a reduction in size and weight of thyroidectomy animals, associated with reduced levels of thyroid hormone (T3). Thus we concluded that the thyroid hormones are directly related to functional changes in the retina of thyroidectomy animals, together with the reduction of weight and size.
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