Iodine in biology damage). In areas where there is little iodine in the diet, typically remote inland areas and semi-arid equatorial climates where no marine foods are eaten, iodine deficiency also gives rise to hypothyroidism, the most serious symptoms of which are epidemic goitre (swelling of the thyroid gland), extreme fatigue, mental slowing, depression, weight gain, and low basal body temperatures. The addition of iodine to table salt (so-called iodized salt) has largely eliminated the most severe consequences of iodine deficiency in wealthier nations, but deficiency remains a serious public health problem in the developing world. Iodine deficiency is also a problem in
Ornithine translocase deficiency Ornithine translocase deficiency Ornithine translocase deficiency, also called hyperornithinemia-hyperammonemia-homocitrullinuria (HHH) syndrome, is a rare autosomal recessive urea cycle disorder affecting the enzyme ornithine translocase, which causes ammonia to accumulate in the blood, a condition called hyperammonemia. Ammonia, which is formed when proteins are broken down in the body, is toxic if the levels become too high. The nervous system is especially sensitive to the effects of excess ammonia. Mutations in "SLC25A15" cause ornithine translocase deficiency. Ornithine translocase deficiency belongs to a class of metabolic disorders referred to as urea cycle disorders. The urea cycle is a sequence of reactions that