Pendred syndrome

Pendred syndrome is a disorder typically associated with hearing loss and a thyroid condition called a goiter. A goiter is an enlargement of the thyroid gland, which is a butterfly-shaped organ at the base of the neck that produces hormones. If a goiter develops in a person with Pendred syndrome, it usually forms between late childhood and early adulthood. In most cases, this enlargement does not cause the thyroid to malfunction.

In most people with Pendred syndrome, severe to profound hearing loss caused by changes in the inner ear (sensorineural hearing loss) is evident at birth. Less commonly, hearing loss does not develop until later in infancy or early childhood. Some affected individuals also have problems with balance caused by dysfunction of the vestibular system, which is the part of the inner ear that helps maintain the body's balance and orientation.

An inner ear abnormality called an enlarged vestibular aqueduct (EVA) is a characteristic feature of Pendred syndrome. The vestibular aqueduct is a bony canal that connects the inner ear with the inside of the skull. Some affected individuals also have an abnormally shaped cochlea, which is a snail-shaped structure in the inner ear that helps process sound. The combination of an enlarged vestibular aqueduct and an abnormally shaped cochlea is known as Mondini malformation.

Pendred syndrome shares features with other hearing loss and thyroid conditions, and it is unclear whether they are best considered as separate disorders or as a spectrum of related signs and symptoms. These conditions include a form of nonsyndromic hearing loss (hearing loss that does not affect other parts of the body) called DFNB4, and, in a small number of people, a form of congenital hypothyroidism resulting from an abnormally small thyroid gland (thyroid hypoplasia). All of these conditions are caused by mutations in the same gene.