Correlation of thyroid hormones and Mizaj: A review

Endocrine disorders are prevalent around the world and thyroid disorders are one of them. According to a projection from various studies on thyroid disease, it has been estimated that about 42 million people in India suffer from thyroid diseases. Deficiency and abnormal hyper-secretion of thyroid hormones are termed as hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism, respectively. Levothyroxine is a treatment of choice in hypothyroidism whereas hyperthyroidism is treated by reducing thyroid hormone synthesis, using antithyroid drugs, or by thyroidectomy. In unani medicine, thyroid gland and its hormones are not well explained in classical medical literature. Ancient Unani physician even did not mention the Mizaj of thyroid gland and its secretions, which is a fundamental concept in unani medicine, upon which diagnosis is based and it also provide basis for pharmacological treatment for a particular disease. Therefore it is necessary to establish a scientific relationship between thyroid hormones and Mizaj that would provide insight knowledge for pharmacotherapy of thyroid disorders like hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism. In this paper, literature on Mizaj, Akhlat and Modern Literature on thyroid hormones along with scientific studies on Mizaj & thyroid hormones are reviewed and compared.