Home > Health Conditions > Hypothyroidism

Hypothyroidism

Popular Medications   Popular Supplements   Alternative News   CME   The T3 Controversy   General Information   Other News   Related Searches   Related Sites

Popular Medications:

Popular Supplements:

Alternative News:

• Hypothyroidism Tied to Increased Risk for Dementia - Medscape, 7/6/22 - "After adjusting for covariates, among participants 65 years and older, a history of hypothyroidism was associated with an 81% increased risk of being diagnosed with dementia (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.81"
• Chronic fatigue syndrome possibly explained by lower levels of key thyroid hormones - Science Daily, 3/20/18 - "In hypothyroidism, the body tries to encourage thyroid hormone activity by releasing more thyroid-stimulating hormone -- however, this does not happen in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome ... the researchers compared thyroid function and markers of inflammation between 98 CFS patients and 99 healthy controls. Remarkably, the CFS patients had lower serum levels of certain key thyroid hormones such as triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4), but normal levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone ... Additional analyses indicated that CFS patients had a lower urinary iodine status and low-grade inflammation, which possibly mirrored the symptoms of patients with hypothyroidism. These CFS patients, however, had relatively higher levels of another thyroid hormone called "reverse T3" or rT3. This appeared to be due to a shift in hormone production, where the body preferred to convert T4 to rT 3 instead of producing T3. The low T3 levels found in CFS patients coupled with this switchover to rT3 could mean that T3 levels are severely reduced in tissue"    
• L-carnitine supplementation for the management of fatigue in patients with hypothyroidism on levothyroxine treatment: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial - Endocr J. 2016 Jul 16 - "Hypothyroid patients experience fatigue-related symptoms despite adequate thyroid hormone replacement ... 60 patients (age 50.0 ± 9.2 years, 3 males, 57 females) who still experienced fatigue (fatigue severity scale [FSS] score ≥ 36) were given L-carnitine (n = 30, 990 mg L-carnitine twice daily) or placebo (n = 30) for 12 weeks. After 12 weeks, although neither the FSS score nor the physical fatigue score (PFS) changed significantly, the mental fatigue score (MFS) was significantly decreased by treatment with L-carnitine compared with placebo (from 4.5 ± 1.9 to 3.9 ± 1.5 vs. from 4.2 ± 1.8 to 4.6 ± 1.6, respectively; P < 0.01). In the L-carnitine group, 75.0%, 53.6%, and 50.0% of patients showed improvement in the FSS score, PFS, and MFS, respectively, but only 20.0%, 24.0%, and 24.0%, respectively, did so in the placebo group (all P < 0.05). Both the PFS and MFS were significantly improved in patients younger than 50 years and those with free T3 ≥ 4.0 pg/mL by treatment with L-carnitine compared with placebo" - See L-carnitine at Amazon.com.
• The effect of vitamin a supplementation on thyroid function in premenopausal women - J Am Coll Nutr. 2012 Aug;31(4):268-74 - "Serum TSH concentrations in vitamin A-treated subjects were significantly reduced; therefore, vitamin A supplementation might reduce the risk of subclinical hypothyroidism in premenopausal women"
• Selenium and the Thyroid: A Close-Knit Connection - J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2010 Sep 1 - "Maintenance of "selenostasis" via optimal intake not only aids preservation of general health but also contributes substantially to the prevention of thyroid disease" - See selenium at Amazon.com.
• Effect of Zinc Supplementation on Thyroid Hormone Function. A Case Study of Two College Females - Ann Nutr Metab. 2007 May 30;51(2):188-194 - "Zinc supplementation appeared to have a favorable effect on thyroid hormone levels, particularly total T(3), and RMR"
• Hypothyroidism More Common than Previously Recognized - New Hope Natural Media, 4/24/03 - "Hypothyroidism can result in a wide array of symptoms, including fatigue, depression, cold hands and feet, dry skin, fluid retention, hair loss, menstrual irregularities, infertility and elevated serum cholesterol"
• The Importance of Thyroid Supplementation - Life Enhancement Magazine, 11/99

The T3 (triiodothyronine) controversy (also see my triiodothyronine page):

• Free Thyroxine, Brain Frailty and Clock Drawing Test Performance in Patients With Acute Minor Stroke or Transient Ischaemic Attack - Medscape, 3/17/22 - "clock drawing test (CDT) ... Our findings suggested that a higher FT4 level was associated with a higher brain frailty score and poorer CDT performance, and brain frailty might play an important effect on the association between FT4 and cognitive decline" - Note: It's another reason to consider taking the t3/t4 combo vs. t4 alone but getting a prescription for the combo is like trying to get a prescription for cocaine. I don't think doctors are current in this area. Burns me up. They think their patients are stupid and that they know everything.
• Combo Thyroid Hormones as Good as Levothyroxine for Hypothyroidism - Medscape, 3/22/21 - "Patients with hypothyroidism treated with the three most common pharmacological strategies of levothyroxine (LT4) alone, LT4 in combination with triiodothyronine (T3), or desiccated thyroid extract showed no differences in thyroid symptoms or secondary outcomes in a double-blind randomized study ... Additionally, some patients treated with LT4 alone report greater improvements in symptoms with the addition of T3 ... Overall, 45% of patients indicated they preferred desiccated thyroid as their first choice of treatment, 32% preferred LT4/T3 as their first choice, and 23% preferred LT4 alone ... When Switched to Desiccated Thyroid, Many Felt 'Much Better' ... A further exploratory analysis revealed that those who experienced symptoms while taking LT4 alone reported greater alleviation of symptoms with the other two treatments ... However, with the subgroup analysis based on the scores of symptom questionnaires, we found that symptomatic patients on LT4 improved while being treated with LT4/T3 or desiccated thyroid ... Reports of improvements in switching to desiccated thyroid were notable, Hoang added. "Many patients when switched from LT4 to desiccated thyroid extract said they felt much better, [with] more energy, less mental fogginess, a better outlook, less flair of lupus symptoms, easier to lose weight, etc."" - Note:  So why is trying to get a prescription for desiccated thyroid extract or a t4/t3 combo like trying to get a prescription for cocaine?  Lotta old-timer endocrinologists think they know it all when the research doesn't back them up.
• Serum Triiodothyronine-to-thyroxine (T3/T4) Ratio Predicts Therapeutic Outcome to Biological Therapies in Elderly IBD Patients - Medscape, 2/1/21 - "Baseline T3/T4 ratio was higher in patients with mucosal healing, as compared with those without mucosal healing (P < 0.0001), regardless of the disease type or biological drug (OR 6.4 [2.9–14.3] for each T3/T4 unit increase, P < 0.0001). A cut point of 3.3 was identified as the optimal threshold of baseline T3/T4 ratio for predicting mucosal healing, providing 78% sensitivity and 89% specificity (area under the ROC curve 0.88 [0.79–0.94]; positive and negative likelihood ratios 6.8 [2.9–15.9] and 0.3 [0.1–0.5] respectively) ... T3/T4 ratio seems a reliable tool for predicting therapeutic outcome of biological therapy in elderly patients with IBD"
• Serum free thyroxine levels are positively associated with arterial stiffness in the SardiNIA study - Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2014 Jun 23 - "Like several other known risk factors, serum FT4 levels are associated with carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity, suggesting that high FT4 levels have a detrimental effect on aortic stiffness and may contribute to aging process of the vascular system. This finding may help to understand the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease and contribute to improve prevention therapy"
• Associations between thyroid function and mortality: the influence of age - Eur J Endocrinol. 2014 May 6 - "AS FOR THYROID FUNCTION WITHIN THE NORMAL RANGE: in the 493 participants aged 80 years or older, a FT4 level in the high-normal range (18.5-22 pmol/l) was associated with a higher mortality in comparison to FT4 levels in the middle range (11.5-15.0 pmol/L): HR 1.7 (95% CI 1.0-2.9). In these elderly, also TSH levels within the high-normal range (3.0-4.0 mIU/L) were associated with a higher mortality in comparison to TSH levels within the middle range (1.0-2.0 mIU/L)"
• Higher Free Thyroxine Levels Predict Increased Incidence of Dementia in Older Men: The Health In Men Study - J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2012 Sep 13 - "Men who developed dementia had higher baseline FT(4) (16.5 +/- 2.2 vs. 15.9 +/- 2.2 pmol/liter, P = 0.004) but similar TSH (2.2 +/- 1.4 vs. 2.3 +/- 1.6 mU/liter, P = 0.23) compared with men who did not receive this diagnosis. After adjusting for covariates, higher FT(4) predicted new-onset dementia (11% increased risk per 1 pmol/liter increase in FT(4), P = 0.005; quartiles Q2-4 vs. Q1: adjusted hazard ratio = 1.76, 95% confidence interval = 1.03-3.00, P = 0.04). There was no association between TSH quartiles and incident dementia. When the analysis was restricted to euthyroid men (excluding those with subclinical hyper- or hypothyroidism), higher FT(4) remained associated with incident dementia (11% increase per unit increment, P = 0.03; Q2-4 vs. Q1: adjusted hazard ratio = 2.02, 95% confidence interval = 1.10-3.71, P = 0.024)" - Note:  There is also an association with a low T3/T4 ration and insulin resistance.  I alternate between taking T4 on day and T3 the next.  Doctor's seem to refuse to prescribe both. 
  • Hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance is associated with low T(3)/T(4) ratio in pre diabetic euthyroid pakistani subjects - J Diabetes Complications. 2012 Jul 11 - "Hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance are associated with low T(3)/T(4) ratio in pre-diabetic euthyroid Pakistani subjects"
• T3 augmentation of SSRI resistant depression - J Affect Disord. 2006 Apr;91(2-3):211-5 - "The women took a mean daily dose of 40.6 mug of T3 for a mean duration of 3.75 weeks, while the men were on a mean daily dose of 43.8 mug of T3 for 3.5 weeks. T3 augmentation was associated with a statistically significant drop (p<.003) in the mean HAMD at end of the three weeks compared to baseline scores"
• T3 augmentation of SSRI resistant depression - J Affect Disord. 2006 Feb 14 - "T3 augmentation was associated with a statistically significant drop (p<.003) in the mean HAMD at end of the three weeks compared to baseline scores ... T3 augmentation resulted in improvement of mood scores"
• Combinination Levothyroxine/Liothyronine Shows No Obvious Benefit Over Levothyroxine Alone in Patients With Primary Hypothyroidism - Doctor's Guide, 12/11/03 - "Patients who are treated with a combination of levothyroxine plus liothyronine for primary hypothyroidism gained no apparent benefit compared with patients treated with levothyroxine monotherapy"
• Combination Therapy No Better Than T4 Alone for Primary Hypothyroidism - Medscape, 12/9/03
• Use OF T3 Thyroid Hormone to Treat Depression - DrMirkin.com, 5/19/01 - "some people become depressed when they take just T4 and their depression can be cured when they take both thyroid hormones, T3 and T4"
• T3---fibromyalgia, hypothyroidism, thyroid hormone resistance - drlowe.com
• Wilson's Thyroid Syndrome - "Conversion of T4 to T3 can also be impaired by glucocorticoids" - Maybe that is the mechanism by which cortisol causes depression, and if so, could T3 then cure the depression? - Ben
• Thyroid Hormone Replacement Therapy - Horm Res 2001 Jan;56 Suppl S1:74-81 - "Desiccated thyroid contains both thyroxine (T(4)) and triiodothyronine (T(3)); serum T(3) frequently rises to supranormal values in the absorption phase, associated with palpitations. Liothyronine (T(3)) has the same drawback and requires twice-daily administration in view of its short half-life ... recent animal experiments indicate that only the combination of T(4) and T(3) replacement, and not T(4) alone, ensures euthyroidism in all tissues of thyroidectomized rats ... It could well be that a slow-release preparation containing both T(4) and T(3) might improve the quality of life, compared with T(4) replacement alone, in some hypothyroid patients"
• Adding Natural Hormone Boosts Brain Function In Hypothyroidism - Doctor's Guide, 2/11/99
• T3 Triiodothyronine Drugs Improve Quality of Life for Hypothyroidism - thyroid-info.com
• Effects of thyroxine as compared with thyroxine plus triiodothyronine in patients with hypothyroidism - N Engl J Med. 1999 Feb 11;340(6):469-70 - "among 15 visual-analogue scales used to indicate mood and physical status, the results for 10 were significantly better after treatment with thyroxine [t4] plus triiodothyronine [t3]"
• Depression Management - ContinuingEducation.com, exp. 12/31/02 - See table six, recommends 5 - 50 mcg T3, 100 mcg (.1 mg) T4

Other News:

• Effect of Levothyroxine Supplementation on the Cardiac Morphology and Function in Patients with Subclinical Hypothyroidism: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis - J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2022 Jul 10 - "The impact of abnormal thyroid hormone levels on the cardiovascular system has been explored for decades. In recent years, emerging evidence has suggested that subclinical thyroid dysfunction, especially subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH), significantly affects cardiac indices ... Judging from the obvious changes in the CO, LVEF and E/A ratio, LT4 supplementation can effectively improve the cardiac systolic and diastolic dysfunction prevalent in SCH patients. This study provides evidence of the recommendation for LT4 supplementation in adult SCH patients"
• Thyroid stimulating hormone levels are associated with genetically predicted nonalcoholic fatty liver disease - J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2022 Jun 28 - "Multivariable logistic regression model suggested a "dose-response" relationship between TSH (Q4 vs. Q1: OR = 1.29, 95% CI = 1.10 - 1.52; Ptrend = 0.001) and NAFLD. BMI and ALT partially mediated the association between TSH and NAFLD, while the proportion of the mediation effects of BMI and ALT were 39.1% and 22.3%, respectively. In MR analyses, the inverse-variance weighted method was selected as primary method and suggested a putative causal effect of NAFLD on serum TSH levels"
• Associations among FT 4 level, FT 3/FT 4 ratio, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in Chinese patients with hypopituitarism - Endocr J 2022 Jan 14 - "The NAFLD(+) group had a significantly higher free triiodothyronine/free thyroxine (FT3/FT4) ratio than the NAFLD(-) group (p = 0.003). The NAFLD(+) group showed significantly lower levels of FT4 and the growth hormone (GH) than the NAFLD(-) group (p = 0.003 and 0.016, respectively). We observed an association of the FT4 level and FT3/FT4 ratio with NAFLD in the univariate model, which was non-significant after adjustment for metabolic parameters (BMI, HDL-C, triglycerides, serum uric acid, blood pressure, fasting glucose). To better understand the role of each metabolic parameters, we performed additional models for each of those predictors individually after adjustment for age and gender, the association between FT4 level and FT3/FT4 ratio lost significance after adjustment for HDL-C and TG, but not for other predictors. Our findings suggest that thyroid dysfunction may be crucially involved in NAFLD by regulating whole-body metabolism, especially lipid utilization. Therefore, sufficient thyroid hormone replacement therapy for patients with hypopituitarism is recommended from the early stage"
• Abnormal thyroid hormone levels during pregnancy may increase the risk of preschool boys’ behavioral problems - Science Daily, 1/6/22 - "The researchers found boys born to mothers with high thyroid hormone levels during pregnancy were more likely to be withdrawn, have behavioral problems and be anxious or depressed. Moderate and low thyroid hormone levels were associated with aggressive behavior in preschool boys."
• Can a Commonly Prescribed Thyroid Medication Lift Depression and Dementia? - Medscape, 12/16/21 - "While the therapeutic advantages and disadvantages over replacement with pure levothyroxine [T4] or a mixture of T4 with triiodothyronine [T3] have generated a consensus in favor of levothyroxine alone, we still grapple with treated patients who complain of impaired well-being ... Despite thyroid hormone replacement's clinical use for over 100 years and levothyroxine monotherapy for about 50 years, when to use a mixture, if ever, remains contentious despite numerous comparison trials ... A recent trial sponsored by the US military perhaps offers the branch point that affects prescribing. The group studied about 75 people with established hypothyroidism that was corrected to normal TSH with medication. They also administered a variety of quality-of-life and skill measurements. Using a crossover design, they identified people who scored poorly on the quality-of-life assessment when taking levothyroxine alone, and then offered a T3-containing alternative, and saw the quality-of-life score improve. But again, measurements of well-being and a few cognitive symptoms remained mostly independent of the type of thyroid hormone that produced the therapeutic TSH"
• Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone Levels and Incident Depression - Medscape, 6/3/21 - "Overall, low TSH levels (1st quintile) were associated with incident depression (adjusted RR = 1.36, 95% CI 1.02–1.81), remaining significant for women (adjusted RR = 1.64, 95% CI 1.15–2.33), but not for men. The same results were found when restricting analysis to euthyroid participants (adjusted RR = 1.46, 95% CI 1.08–1.99), also significant for women only (adjusted RR = 1.63, 95% CI 1.12–2.38)"
• The association between subclinical hypothyroidism and metabolic syndrome: an update meta-analysis of observational studies - Endocr J 2021 Apr 21 - "subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) ... SCH was identified to be associated with an increased risk of obesity, hypertension, high triglyceride (TG) levels and low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels. In conclusion, SCH is significantly associated with an increased risk of MetS and four out of five components of MetS"
• 1 in 3 on Levothyroxine Take Meds That Interfere With Thyroid Tests - Medscape, 3/21/21 - "Among the drugs with potential thyroid test interference, about 28% of patients were taking prednisone or prednisolone, 8% were taking amiodarone, and 1.42% were taking phenytoin. Other reported drugs that could potentially interfere included carbamazepine (0.91%), phenobarbital (0.15%), lithium (0.40%), and tamoxifen (0.11%)."
• Increased risk of dementia in hypothyroidism. A Danish nationwide register-based study - Clin Endocrinol (Oxf) 2021 Jan 22 - "Hypothyroidism is associated with increased risk of dementia. The association is influenced by co-morbidity and age. Every 6 months of elevated TSH increased the risk of dementia by 12%, suggesting that also the length of hypothyroidism influences the risk of dementia"
• Effect of Increased Levothyroxine Dose on Depressive Mood in Older Adults Undergoing Thyroid Hormone Replacement Therapy - Medscape, 9/1/20 - "Depressive mood improves with increased LT4 dose, without significant hyperthyroid symptoms or signs, in older adults undergoing thyroid hormone replacement. These findings suggest the potential for varying the treatment target for hypothyroidism based on mood status and that low-dose LT4 treatment might be an ancillary treatment for depression."
• Time to Switch From TSH to T4 for Assessment of Thyroid Function? - Medscape, 5/18/20 - "It is important to note that the etiologies of these various clinical conditions, including atrial fibrillation, osteoporosis, fractures, and frailty, are multifactorial, and thyroid status is but one of many parameters impacting these conditions ... it is interesting that serum free T4 levels were associated with these and other health conditions in about 50% of the analyses in this study, in contrast to serum TSH that was not as strongly associated"
• Can 'Normal' T4 Levels Increase AF Risk? - Medscape, 12/11/18 - "After adjustment, the relative risk for prevalent AF in the highest normal free T4 quartile group was double that of the lowest group. No similar associations were seen between the quartiles for free T3. Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) results were mixed."
• Effect of Thyroxin Treatment on Carotid Intima-Media Thickness (CIMT) Reduction in Patients with Subclinical Hypothyroidism (SCH): a Meta-Analysis of Clinical Trials - J Atheroscler Thromb. 2017 May 3 - "subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) is related to an increased carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), a surrogate marker of subclinical cardiovascular disease (CVD) ... After treatment with thyroxin in subjects with SCH (n=314), there was a statistically significant decrease in CIMT from pre- to post-treatment; the pooled WMD of CIMT decrease was [WMD －0.32; 95% CI (－0.47, －0.16), p=＜0.0001; I2=2%], and it was no longer different from EU controls [WMD 0.13 mm; 95% CI (－0.04, 0.30); p=0.14; I2=27%]. The total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) were higher in SCH as compared to EU controls and decreased significantly after treatment with thyroxin"
• Time for a U-turn on Levothyroxine? Overuse Is Rife, Say Docs - Medscape, 11/14/16 - "current guidelines say that those with TSH of ≥10 mlU/L, or those with TSH between 5.5 and 10 mlU/L who have potentially related symptoms, positive autoantibodies, or cardiovascular disease, should receive treatment ... Yet the guidelines are not backed up by data — the doctors argue there is a lack of evidence to suggest that there is a clear benefit of levothyroxine therapy outside of patients with thyroid cancer"
• Symptoms Persist Despite Normalized TSH With Levothyroxine - Medscape, 10/25/16 - "Despite having normal blood levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), many patients treated for hypothyroidism with levothyroxine (L-T4) continue to have symptoms, including fatigue as well as a higher body mass index (BMI) and a greater likelihood of antidepressant and beta-blocker use, compared with healthy controls ... for the first time, we have documentation that supports the patients' complaints, demonstrating that…[this] was not only in their minds, as some have suggested ... those in the L-T4–treatment group had approximately 10% to 15% higher total and free thyroxine (T4) levels and about 5% to 10% lower serum and total triiodothyronine (T3) levels compared with the healthy controls ... And the serum T3:T4 ratios in the L-T4–treated group were approximately 15% to 20% lower than in the healthy matched controls ... Also, compared with the healthy controls, those in the L-T4 group had major differences in seven of 21 objective parameters, including BMI (P < .001), total cholesterol (P < .01), HDL cholesterol (P = .02). and LDL cholesterol (P = .03); and in use of beta-blockers (P < .0001), statins, and antidepressants ... those taking L-T4 weighed approximately 10 pounds more than healthy controls of the same height, despite consuming fewer calories ... "Endocrinologists have accepted and propagated the notion that blood T3 levels are 'normal' in hypothyroid patients treated with levothyroxine," Dr Bianco noted ... Yet there are "are a handful of relatively recent studies indicating this is not the case," of which "ours is the most recent one, confirming that serum T3 is lower in these patients." - See T3 at IAS.  I take both T-3 and T-4 and attempt to keep my TSH around 2.  Going lower than that may cause loss of body hair.
• Thyroid function and the risk of dementia: The Rotterdam Study - Neurology. 2016 Sep 16 - "Higher TSH was associated with lower dementia risk in both the full and normal ranges of thyroid function (hazard ratio [HR] 0.90, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.83-0.98; and HR 0.76, 95% CI 0.64-0.91, respectively). This association was independent of cardiovascular risk factors. Dementia risk was higher in individuals with higher free thyroxine (HR 1.04, 95% CI 1.01-1.07). Absolute 10-year dementia risk decreased from 15% to 10% with higher TSH in older women. Higher TSH was associated with better global cognitive scores"
• Does low-normal serum TSH level adversely impact cognition in elderly adults and might methimazole therapy improve outcomes? - Endocr J. 2016 Apr 6 - "Untreated subjects with lower TSH showed the greatest declines in MMSE scores during follow-up that was not observed in those with serum TSH ≥1.0 μIU/mL"
• Relationship Between Circulating Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone, Free Thyroxine, and Free Triiodothyronine Concentrations and 9-Year Mortality in Euthyroid Elderly Adults - J Am Geriatr Soc. 2016 Mar;64(3):553-60 - "Participants with TSH in the lowest quartile had higher mortality than the rest of the population. After adjusting for multiple confounders, participants with TSH in the lowest quartile (hazard ratio = 2.22, 95% confidence interval = 1.19-4.22) had significantly higher all-cause mortality than those with TSH in the highest quartile. Neither FT3 nor FT4 was associated with mortality"
• Free Thyroxine and Functional Mobility, Fitness, and Fatigue in Euthyroid Older Men and Women in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging - J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2016 Jan 20 - "Adjusting for sex, age, race, height, weight, exercise and smoking, reported walking ability, usual and rapid gait speed, 400-m time, fatigability, and reported energy level were less favorable with increasing FT4 (p = .013 to <.001). In sex-strata, similar associations were observed except for walking ability in men and energy level in women. Categorical analyses revealed that persons with low FT4 exhibited better functional mobility, fitness, and reported energy than persons with intermediate or high levels (p < .05 for all). Persons with high-normal versus medium FT4 had slower usual and rapid gait speed (p < .05) only"
• High Thyroid Function Linked to Dementia - Medscape, 10/23/15 - "those with higher thyroid-stimulating-hormone (TSH) levels — typically a sign of an underactive thyroid — had a lower risk of dementia (HR 0.76, 95% CI 0.64–0.91) ... Meanwhile, higher levels of free thyroxine 4 (T4) — a sign of an overactive thyroid — were associated with a significantly higher risk of dementia (HR, 1.04; 95% CI, 1.01–1.07) ... Higher TSH levels in women were linked to an absolute 10-year risk of dementia that was decreased from 6% to nearly 3%; however, a similar effect was not seen in men ... A novel issue is that the effects of thyroid excess are evident only in women, suggesting that this effect is mediated by some other key factor, which may possibly be estrogen exposure"
• Association of low baseline free thyroxin levels with progression of coronary artery calcification over four years in euthyroid subjects: The Kangbuk Samsung Health Study - Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2015 Sep 19 - "The odds ratios (OR) for CAC progression over four years (highest versus lowest quartile for baseline FT4) were 0.647 (95% CI 0.472-0.886) after adjustment for confounding factor ... In this cohort of euthyroid men and women, a low baseline FT4 level was associated with a high risk of CACS progression over four years"
• Thyroid hormones are associated with longitudinal cognitive change in an urban adult population - Neurobiol Aging. 2015 Aug 8 - "Within-reference ranges, a higher thyroid stimulating hormone was related to faster decline on the clock-command test scores in women. In sum, higher baseline thyroid stimulating hormone was associated with faster cognitive decline over-time among urban US adults, specifically in domains of working memory and visuospatial and/or visuoconstruction abilities"
• Thyroid dysfunction, thyroid hormone replacement and colorectal cancer risk - J Natl Cancer Inst. 2015 Apr 8;107(6) - "Long-term THR is associated with a decreased risk of CRC. Hyperthyroidism and untreated hypothyroidism are associated with modestly elevated risk of CRC"
• To T3 or Not: Combo Therapy in Hypothyroidism - Medscape, 12/18/14 - "One theory as to why some patients may indeed continue to experience hypothyroid symptoms such as fatigue, weight gain, and "brain fog" despite achieving normal TSH levels with L-T4 monotherapy was recently proposed with the discovery of common variations in the deiodinase 2 (DIO2) gene ... The latter was found to be associated with reduced ability to convert T4 to T3, potentially leading to a lack of response to monotherapy with T4 ... I suggest Armour to patients because it's economical and it's simple ... One problem with combination therapy [with synthetic T4 and T3] is that people find it to be very hard to take three pills a day, and you only have to take one Armour ... Furthermore, the synthetic T3 is very expensive, so I'm really looking at it from a more practical point of view ... After a minimum of 4 weeks on Armour, 78% expressed a preference for Armour compared with L-T4, with no serious adverse events noted, even with 30 of the subjects aged 65 years or older ... The [different] study involved 70 patients, aged 18 to 65, who were treated for 16 weeks with either desiccated-thyroid extract or L-T4 and then crossed over for the same duration ... Patients treated with desiccated thyroid had an average weight loss of 3 lb, and there was no difference in thyroid-function blood tests between the two groups after treatment ... Regarding the theory that it could be dangerous — where are the case reports of people getting sick? You will not find a single scientific paper stating any real danger from desiccated thyroid, and as far as I'm concerned, the [medical societies] are scaring people away from this"
• Drugs that interact with levothyroxine; an observational study from the Thyroid Epidemiology, Audit and Research Study (TEARS) - Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2014 Jul 17 - "Iron, calcium, proton pump inhibitors, and oestrogen all increased serum TSH concentration: an increase of 0.22 mU/L (p <.001), 0.27 mU/L (p<0.001), 0.12 mU/L (p< 0.01), and 0.08 mU/L (p < 0.007) respectively. For these four study drugs, there was a clinically significant increase of over 5 mU/L in serum TSH, in 7.5%, 4.4%, 5.6%, and 4.3% patients respectively. There was a decrease of 0.17 mU/L (p value .01) in the TSH concentration for those patients on statins. The TSH decreased by 5 mU/L in 3.7% of patients. There was no effect with H2 receptor antagonists or glucocorticoids"
• Defending Plasma T3 is a Biological Priority - Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2014 Jul 5 - "Studies in rodents indicate that different levels of genetic disruption of the feedback mechanism and deiodinase system are met with elevation in serum T4 and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels, while serum T3 levels remain stable. These findings have focused attention on serum T3 levels in patients with thyroid disease, with important clinical implications affecting therapeutic goals and choice of therapy for patients with hypothyroidism. Although monotherapy with levothyroxine is the standard of care for hypothyroidism, not all patients normalize serum T3 levels with many advocating for combination therapy with levothyroxine and liothyronine. The latter could be relevant for a significant number of patients that remain symptomatic on monotherapy with levothyroxine, despite normalization of serum TSH levels"
• Thyroid Function Within the Normal Range and the Risk of Depression: A Population-Based Cohort Study - J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2014 Feb 24 - "Overt hypo- and hyperthyroidism are associated with an increased risk of depression ... depressive symptoms [Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D)] were assessed. A CES-D of 16 or greater is indicative of a depressive disorder ... follow-up (mean 8.0 y) ... persons in the lowest TSH tertile (0.3-1.0 mU/L) had more depressive symptoms [CES-D score (mean): 7.95 vs 6.63, P = .014] as well as an increased risk of a CES-D of 16 or greater [10.7% vs 5.0%, odds ratio (95% confidence interval) 2.22 (1.18-4.17)], compared with persons in the highest normal range TSH tertile (1.6-4.0 mU/L)"
• L-thyroxine Dampens Renal Function Decline in CKD With SCH - Medscape, 6/19/13 - "In patients with stage 2 to 4 chronic kidney disease (CKD) and subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH), thyroid hormone replacement therapy (THRT) with L-thyroxine appeared to dampen the rate of decline in renal function ... studied 113 patients with stable CKD who were treated at their center with L-thyroxine for subclinical hypothyroidism and who had data for at least 24 months before and after THRT ... mean age of 63, and 32% were men ... The patients received L-thyroxine (Synthyroid, Bukwang Pharmacy) at a dose needed to normalize serum TSH levels. The usual starting dose was 25 µg/day and was increased as needed until the patient attained a normal serum TSH level ... On average, before the patients received THRT, eGFR declined by 4.31 mL/min/1.73 m2 each year, but after they received THRT, this slowed significantly, to a decline of 1.08 mL/min/1.73 m2 each year" - Note:  I throw studies like this in because it would make sense that it might also reduce the decline in kidney function with normal aging.
• Subclinical hypothyroidism and indices for metabolic syndrome in Japanese women: One year follow-up study - J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2013 Jun 4 - "Subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) and metabolic syndrome (MetS) increase with age, however their relation remains unclear ... mean age was 48 +/- 9 years ... Serum free T4 (FT4) levels were lower in women than men in most of the age groups, and the prevalence of SCH, 6.3 % in women versus 3.4 % in man, increased with age, reaching 14.6 % in 70 ~ year-old women. Multivariate logistic-regression analyses revealed that waist circumference, and the serum triglyceride and LDL-cholesterol levels were significantly higher in subjects with SCH than without among women. Reflecting these findings, the adjusted odds ratio (OR) of MetS in patients with SCH was higher than in the euthyroid subjects in women with OR, 2.7 (95% CI, 1.1-5.6; p=0.017), but not in men. Furthermore, progression from euthyroid into SCH resulted in a significant increase in the serum triglyceride level but not LDL-C in women"
• Low normal free T4 confers decreased high density lipoprotein anti-oxidative functionality in the context of hyperglycemia - Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2012 Dec 29 - "Low normal thyroid function may promote the development of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease by thus far poorly defined mechanisms. We tested the impact of thyroid function on HDL anti-oxidative capacity, a metric of its anti-atherogenic functionality, in euthyroid subjects with varying degrees of glucose tolerance ... HDL anti-oxidative capacity was correlated positively with free T4 (r=0.320, P=0.007), and negatively with plasma glucose (r=-0.394, P<0.001) in T2DM only"
• Thyroxine Therapy Improves QoL in Subclinical Hypothyroidism - Medscape, 9/26/12 - "significant improvements in the domains of physical, affective, and social problems, as well as in overall quality of life in adults with SCH treated with L-thyroxine 50 µg/day for 6 months. The dose of L-thyroxine was titrated to achieve euthyroidism ... The baseline score for quality of life increased significantly at 6 months for patients receiving active therapy, whereas untreated patients tended to deteriorate ... In the treatment group, ankle edema, irritability, and memory loss improved, and patients lost weight. In the control group, dry skin, constipation, irritability, cold intolerance, alopecia, dry hair, myalgia, and sweating abnormalities continued"
• Higher TSH level is a risk factor for differentiated thyroid cancer - Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2012 Aug 27 - "Higher TSH levels are associated with differentiated thyroid cancers (DTC). To validate this association, we compared TSH levels obtained from euthyroid patients with DTC with TSH levels from controls in the general population ... The mean TSH level of the case group was significantly higher than the mean TSH level of the control group (1.95 +/- 0.9 mIU/L vs. 1.62 +/- 0.8 mIU/L, p < 0.001), and was associated with DTC risk. Multiple logistic regression, after controlling for age, sex, and the presence of a family history of thyroid cancer, showed that the odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for the second, third, and fourth quartiles of TSH levels were 1.27 (1.03-1.57), 1.55 (1.25-1.92) and 2.21 (1.78-2.74), respectively"
• Subclinical Hypothyroidism Is Associated With Increased Risk for All-Cause and Cardiovascular Mortality in Adults - J Am Coll Cardiol. 2012 Jun 7 - "subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) ... SCH may increase the risks of hypercholesterolemia and atherosclerosis ... Euthyroidism was defined as a serum TSH level of 0.47 to 4.9 mIU/l ... Compared with subjects with euthyroidism, after adjustment for age, sex, body mass index, diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, smoking, alcohol consumption, betel nut chewing, physical activity, income, and education level, the RRs (95% confidence interval) of deaths from all-cause and CVD among subjects with SCH were 1.30 (1.02 to 1.66), and 1.68 (1.02 to 2.76), respectively"
• Mild thyroid dysfunction in early pregnancy linked to serious complications - Science Daily, 6/23/12 - "In this study, investigators found that even mild thyroid dysfunction that did not meet the criteria for hypothyroidism greatly increased the risk of serious problems. Compared to pregnant women with normal thyroid function, the risk was: ... doubled for miscarriage (≤20 weeks of pregnancy), premature labor, and low birth weight ... seven times greater for still birth"
• Thyroid Hormone Levels Linked to Weight Changes - Medscape, 5/15/12 - "it was not possible to establish the direction of the observed associations (i.e., whether variation in thyroid hormone levels leads to an altered body composition or whether a less favorable body composition leads to changes in circulating thyroid hormone levels) ... Higher BMI, fat mass, and serum leptin were associated with higher circulating levels of FT3, TT3, and TBG (P < .02 for all), whereas FT4 and TT4 were significantly associated with fat mass and serum leptin (P < .005), but not BMI ... In contrast, higher levels of T3 and TBG were associated with lower insulin sensitivity, assessed by HOMA-IR (P = .0001); there appeared to be no link between TSH levels and body composition or metabolic parameters ... the absence of an association with TSH is remarkable, especially since our associations with free and total thyroid hormones are very significant"
• Levothyroxine Treatment of Subclinical Hypothyroidism, Fatal and Nonfatal Cardiovascular Events, and Mortality - Arch Intern Med. 2012 Apr 23 - "Subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) has been associated with ischemic heart disease (IHD) ... We used the United Kingdom General Practitioner Research Database to identify individuals with new SCH (serum thyrotropin levels of 5.01-10.0 mIU/L and normal free thyroxine levels) recorded during 2001 with outcomes analyzed until March 2009 ... Treatment of SCH with levothyroxine was associated with fewer IHD events in younger individuals, but this was not evident in older people"
• A high normal TSH level is associated with an atherogenic lipid profile in euthyroid non-smokers with newly diagnosed asymptomatic coronary heart disease - Lipids Health Dis. 2012 Mar 27;11(1):44 - "The TSH level, even within the normal range, was positively and linearly correlated with total cholesterol (TC), non-high density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-C) and triglycerides (TG) (Beta = 0.173, 0.181 and 0.103, respectively, P < 0.01in all). With 1 mIU/L rise of TSH, the levels of TC, TG and non-HDL-C will increase by 1.010, 1.064, and 1.062 mmol/L, respectively. The odds ratio of hypercholesterolemia and hypertriglyceridemia with respect to the serum TSH level was 1.640 (95% CI 1.199-2.243, P = 0.002) and 1.349 (95% CI 1.054-1.726, P = 0.017), respectively"
• Subclinical Thyroid Dysfunction and the Risk of Heart Failure in Older Persons at High Cardiovascular Risk - J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2012 Jan 11 - "Over 3.2 yr follow-up, the rate of heart failure was higher for subclinical hyperthyroidism compared with euthyroidism [age- and sex-adjusted hazard ratio (HR) = 2.93, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.37-6.24, P = 0.005; multivariate-adjusted HR = 3.27, 95% CI = 1.52-7.02, P = 0.002). Subclinical hypothyroidism (only at threshold >10 mIU/liter) was associated with heart failure (age- and sex-adjusted HR = 3.01, 95% CI = 1.12-8.11, P = 0.029; multivariate HR = 2.28, 95% CI = 0.84-6.23). There were no strong evidence of an association between subclinical thyroid dysfunction and cardiovascular events or mortality, except in those with TSH below 0.1 or over 10 mIU/liter and not taking pravastatin. Conclusion: Older people at high cardiovascular risk with low or very high TSH along with normal free T(4) appear at increased risk of incident heart failure"
• High normal thyroid-stimulating hormone is associated with arterial stiffness in healthy postmenopausal women - J Hypertens. 2012 Jan 5 - "Individuals with serum TSH greater than 2.5 μIU/ml had significantly higher values of PWV when compared with individuals with TSH levels below 2.5 μIU/ml (9.68 +/- 1.97 vs. 8.54 +/- 1.83 m/s; P = 0.030). In multivariate analysis, age, insulin resistance and TSH above 2.5 μIU/ml were the only significant predictors of PWV (TSH, β-coefficient = 0.222; P = 0.014). No associations were found between the remaining markers and levels of thyroid hormones, whereas thyroid antibodies were not associated with any of the arterial markers"
• Endogenous subclinical thyroid disorders, physical and cognitive function, depression and mortality in older individuals - Eur J Endocrinol. 2011 Jul 18 - "To what extent endogenous subclinical thyroid disorders contribute to impaired physical and cognitive function, depression and mortality in older individuals remains a matter of debate ... Participants with overt thyroid disease or use of thyroid medication were excluded ... Sixty-four (5.3%) individuals had subclinical hypothyroidism and 34 (2.8%) had subclinical hyperthyroidism. As compared to euthyroidism (n=1121), subclinical hypo- and hyperthyroidism were not significantly associated with impairment of physical or cognitive function, or depression. On the contrary, participants with subclinical hypothyroidism did less often report more than one activity limitation (odds ratio 0.44, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.22 to 0.86). After a median follow-up of 10.7 years 601 participants were deceased. Subclinical hypo- and hyperthyroidism were not associated with increased overall mortality risk (hazard ratio 0.89 , 95% CI 0.59 to 1.35 and 0.69, 95% CI 0.40 to 1.20, respectively). Conclusions. The present study does not support disadvantageous effects of subclinical thyroid disorders on physical or cognitive function, depression or mortality in an older population"
• Hypothyroidism Shows Strong Association With Type 2 Diabetes, Screening Recommended - Doctor's Guide, 4/18/11 - "The cross-sectional study comparing 1,848 adult patients with type 2 diabetes with 3,313 individuals without diabetes, showed the prevalence of hypothyroidism on the study group to be 5.7% compared with 1.8% in the control group"
• Thyroid hormone controls the eye‘s visual pigments throughout life - Science Daily, 3/29/11 - "in mature cones of mice and rats the production of visual pigment is regulated by thyroid hormone. It is assumed that this mechanism exists in all mammals, including humans. If so, the adult-onset of thyroid hormone deficiency would affect colour vision ... Studies in mice have shown that thyroid hormone also plays an important role in the development of the eye and particularly the cone visual cells. In the retina of the eye, the cones are the visual cells responsible for colour vision"
• Familial Longevity Is Associated with Decreased Thyroid Function - J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2010 Aug 25 - "We found that a lower family mortality history score (less mortality) of the parents of nonagenarian siblings was associated with higher serum TSH levels (P = 0.005) and lower free T4 levels (P = 0.002) as well as lower free T3 levels (P = 0.034) in the nonagenarian siblings"
• Metabolic cardiovascular disease risk factors and their clustering in subclinical hypothyroidism - Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2010 May;72(5):689-95 - "There appears to be a significant increase in a cluster of metabolic CVD risk factors among people with subclinical hypothyroidism"
• A high normal TSH is associated with the metabolic syndrome - Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2010 May;72(5):696-701 - "Subjects with a TSH in the upper normal range (2.5-4.5 mU/l, n = 119) had a significantly higher BMI (30.47 +/- 0.57 vs. 28.74 +/- 0.18 kg/m(2), P = 0.001) and higher fasting triglycerides (1.583 +/- 0.082 vs. 1.422 +/- 0.024 mmol/l, P = 0.023), and their likeliness for fulfilling the ATP III criteria of the metabolic syndrome was 1.7-fold increased"
• Metformin Lowers Serum TSH Levels in Diabetics With Hypothyroidism - Medscape, 10/2/09
• A high normal TSH is associated with the metabolic syndrome - Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2009 Sep 10 - "Subjects with a TSH in the upper normal range (2.5 to 4.5 mU/l, n = 119) had a significantly higher BMI (30.47 +/- 0.57 vs. 28.74 +/- 0.18 kg/m(2), p = 0.001) and higher fasting triglycerides (1.583 +/- 0.082 vs. 1.422 +/- 0.024 mmol/l, p = 0.023), and their likeliness for fulfilling the criteria of the MS was 1.7-fold increased"
• Hypothyroidism In Women Associated With Liver Cancer - Science Daily, 5/8/09 - "Women with a history of hypothyroidism face a significantly higher risk of developing liver cancer ... Whether and why hypothyroidism causes HCC is not clear ... However, the association between hypothyroidism and NASH can be explained by the underlying hyperlipidemia, decreased fatty acid oxidation insulin resistance and lipid peroxidation in patients with hypothyroidism"
• Antipsychotics Significantly Decrease Free Thyroid Hormone Concentrations - Doctor's Guide, 9/4/08 - "In patients who receive antipsychotic medication, levels of free thyroxine and free triiodothyronine show significant decreases that may affect thyroid hormone functional activity in some tissues, such as the liver"
• Higher Serum Free Thyroxine Levels Are Associated with Coronary Artery Disease - Endocr J. 2008 May 23 - "The relative risk (RR) for CAD in highest tertile of FT(4 )showed increased risk compared with the lowest tertile (RR 1.98; 95% CI 0.98-3.99, p<0.001). Our study showed that FT(4 )levels were associated with the presence and the severity of CAD. Also, this study suggests that elevated serum FT(4 )levels even within normal range could be a risk factor for CAD"
• Erectile Dysfunction in Patients with Hyper- and Hypothyroidism: how Common and Should We Treat? - J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2008 Feb 12 - "ED was more prevalent in patients with hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism compared to controls ... ED is extremely common in males with dysthyroidism. Treatment of the latter restores erectile function"
• Hypothyroidism Tied to Excess Small Intestinal Bacteria - Medscape, 12/17/07 - "small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) ... A hydrogen glucose breath test indicated SIBO in 27 of the patients (54%) versus 2 (5%) of the controls. Symptoms such as abdominal discomfort, flatulence and bloating were significantly more prevalent in the SIBO Group. After treating these patients with 1200 mg rifaximin for a week, there was a significant improvement in the symptoms"
• Association between serum TSH, free T4 and serum liver enzyme activities in a large cohort of unselected outpatients - Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2007 Oct 17 - "GGT and ALT concentrations increased steadily across the increasing TSH categories (P < 0.0001 for trends), ranging from mean values of 36 to 62 U/l for GGT and from 29 to 41 U/l for ALT, respectively. Similarly, there was a negative, graded, relationship between serum GGT and ALT concentrations and free T4 categories"
• Even Mild Thyroid Problems Double Risk Of Heart Condition - Science Daily, 10/5/07 - "individuals who had a TSH level equal or greater than 10 mU/L had a two-fold risk of developing heart failure, compared to those who had normal thyroid levels"
• Cardiac effects of l-thyroxine administration in borderline hypothyroidism - Int J Cardiol. 2007 May 9 - "subclinical hypothyroidism is associated with a cardiac dysfunction, even when this is very mild (i.e. with serum TSH still comprised in the normal range), and show that these abnormalities are reversible with l-T(4) replacement therapy"
• What Is The Role Of Thyroid Hormones In Sleep Regulation? - Science Daily, 8/8/07
• Hypothyroidism Clearly Linked To Mood Swings - Science Daily, 6/4/07
• Treatment Of Thyroid Disease Reduces Tiredness And The Risk Factors For Heart Disease, According To Study - Science Daily, 5/29/07 - "treatment for a shortage of the hormone thyroxine lowers cholesterol, reverses weight gain and reduces the risk factors for heart disease"
• l-thyroxine augmentation of serotonergic antidepressants in female patients with refractory depression - J Affect Disord. 2007 Feb 6 - "The study included 17 female patients ... After four weeks of l-thyroxine augmentation, the remission, assessed as 7 or less points on Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) was obtained in eleven patients (64.7%). Five other patients (29.5%) had responded (reduction>50% on HDRS) and one patient did not show an improvement"
• The beneficial effect of L-thyroxine on cardiovascular risk factors, endothelial function and quality of life in subclinical hypothyroidism: randomised, crossover trial - J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2007 Feb 13 - "Subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) is defined as raised serum thyrotropin (TSH) levels with circulating thyroid hormones within the reference range ... L-thyroxine treatment reduced TC (versus placebo) from 231.6 to 220 mg/dL, p<0.001; LDL cholesterol from 142.9 to 131.3 mg/dL, p<0.05; waist-hip ratio from 0.83 to 0.81, p<0.006; and improved FMD from 4.2 to 5.9% ... SCH treated by L-thyroxine leads to a significant improvement in CV risk factors and symptoms of tiredness"
• Stomach Acid May Affect Thyroid Drug - WebMD, 4/26/06
• No Increased Cardiovascular Risk if Mildly Underactive Thyroid Left Untreated - Doctor's Guide, 3/2/06
• Thyroid-Heart Risks Become Clearer - WebMD, 2/28/06
• New Data Says a Mild Case of Underactive Thyroid Disease Should Be Left Alone - Doctor's Guide, 1/12/06
• Thyroid Condition Associated with Increased Heart Failure Risk in Older Adults - Doctor's Guide, 12/1/05 - "Subclinical hypothyroidism (SH) ... the incidence of CHF during a 4-year follow-up period was significantly increased in patients with moderate and severe SH"
• For Thyroid Hormones, How Low Is Too Low? - New York Times, 11/8/05 - "My good friend Marty Surks is not impressed and doesn't think you should treat patients with a T.S.H. between 5 and 10, but there's mounting evidence that over 2.5 is abnormal"
• Pill 'could lead to longer lives' - BBC News, 3/31/05 - "the mice with the highest metabolic rate lived around 25% longer than those with the lowest ... When mice were given thyroxine, they had increased metabolic rates and lived longer ... However, a leading specialist in human hormone disorders said the findings would "not be true for humans""
• Underactive Thyroid Cuts Breast Cancer Risk - WebMD, 2/14/05 - "an underactive thyroid was shown to protect against developing breast cancer. The study also showed that women who developed breast cancer and who had an underactive thyroid had a less aggressive disease compared with women with a normally functioning thyroid"
• Women With Hypothyroidism Appear to Have Lower Risk of Breast Cancer - Doctor's Guide, 2/14/05
• New FDA Approved Test Detects Thyroid Disease in Minutes - Doctor's Guide, 12/29/04
• Subclinical Hypothyroidism Increases Risk of Heart Disease? - Physician's Weekly, 11/15/04 - "heart disease was 2.6-times more likely among participants with insufficient thyroid function than in those with normal thyroid function"
• Atypical Depression: Thyroid Link Still Alive - WebMD, 3/15/04
• Autoimmune Thyroid Disease Linked to Depression - Medscape, 3/15/04
• Effects of Levothyroxine on Bone Mineral Density Remain Unclear - Doctor's Guide, 3/3/04
• Subclinical Thyroid Disease - JAMA. 2004;291:239-243 - "Most persons found to have subclinical thyroid disease will have TSH values between 0.1 and 0.45 mIU/L or between 4.5 and 10 mIU/L, for which the benefits of treatment are not clearly established; treatment may be beneficial in individuals with serum TSH lower than 0.1 mIU/L or higher than 10 mIU/L"
• Levothyroxine Decreases Risk of Atherosclerosis in Women with Subclinical Hypothyroidism - Doctor's Guide, 5/18/03 - "Compared to controls, the hypothyroid women had significantly elevated levels of fibrinogen, plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI-1), and factor VII (P<0.0001). They also had lower levels of antithrombin III activity (P<0.05). When the hypothyroid women were treated with levothyroxine, they had significant decreases in both PAI-1 and factor VII ... These findings show that subclinical hypothyroidism may play an important role in promoting both hypofibrinolytic and hypercoagulable states, and therefore leading to the development of atherosclerosis in female patients"
• Underactive Thyroid Lowers Breast Cancer Risk - WebMD, 4/10/03
• Treatment of Subclinical Hypothyroidism Advocated - Doctor's Guide, 4/7/03 - "Adverse effects fall into four general categories, according to Dr. Gardner -- neuropsychiatric symptoms, abnormal lipids, altered myocardial function, and greater risk of atherosclerotic heart disease ... Adding to the controversy, he added, is growing evidence that the upper limit of normal serum TSH concentration should be less than 2.5-3.0 U/mL and not the current levels of 5.0-5.5 U/mL"
• Self-Medicating With Synthroid - Medscape, 3/11/03
• Married to TSH: Something Old, Something New - Doctor's Guide, 2/18/03
• Elevated C-Reactive Protein, Homocysteine Values In Hypothyroidism Possible Risk Factor For Coronary Heart Disease - Doctor's Guide, 2/10/03
• Third-generation Assay Effective for Surveillance of Levothyroxine Treatment - Doctor's Guide, 1/21/03
• Thyroxine replacement therapy reduces polyarthralgia symptoms in patients with chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis - Doctor's Guide, 9/13/02
• No Link Found Between Thyroid Dysfunction and Depression or Anxiety - Doctor's Guide, 8/16/02
• Oral Contraceptive Use Helps Prevent Goitre Development - Doctor's Guide, 8/1/02
• Women of Childbearing Age May Need Earlier Thyroid Screening - Doctor's Guide, 6/20/02
• FDA Approves First Prescription Drug Using Penwest's PROSOLV®; MOVA To Market Thyroid Treatment Formulation - Doctor's Guide, 4/26/02 - "is a sodium levothyroxine dosage form indicated for the treatment of hypothyroidism and the suppression of thyroid stimulating hormone"
• Selecting The Dose Of Single Radioiodine Therapy For Goitre - Doctor's Guide, 4/18/02
• Female Sexual Dysfunction, Thyroid Trouble May Be to Blame - WebMD, 3/21/02 - "she has seen no published studies evaluating the frequency of thyroid disease in women with sexual dysfunction issues ... But, with the exception of sexual issues related to menopause, I see it more often than anything else in my female patients"
• Synthroid and Osteoporosis - MedicineNet.com, 3/20/02
• Thyroid Nodules Management - MedicineNet.com, 3/20/02
• Smoking Responsible For Half Of Cases Of Goiter In Areas Of Low Iodine - Doctor's Guide, 3/8/02
• Thyroid Disorders are Inherited, Often Hidden - Doctor's Guide, 2/11/02 - "Our research shows that there is a large population of Americans who suffer from hidden thyroid disorders"
• Thyroid Disease Increases Birth Defects - WebMD, 1/18/02
• Thyroid Disease Raises Risk of Birth Defects - Doctor's Guide, 1/15/02
• Bipolar Patients Sensitive to Thyroid Function Variations - Doctor's Guide, 1/8/02 - "They studied 65 patients in the depressed phase of bipolar I disorder to test the hypothesis that patients with lower thyroid function, even within the normal range, might have a poorer response to treatment initially ... Outcomes were relatively poor unless patients had FTI [free thyroxine index] values above the median and TSH values below the median"
• Thyroid Hormones Accelerate Depressive Response to Drug Therapy - Doctor's Guide, 10/30/01
• Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone Level Inadequate Measure Of Hypothyroidism Severity - Doctor's Guide, 6/24/01
• Thyroid Hormone Not Necessary To Shrink Thyroid Nodules - Doctor's Guide, 6/22/01
• Human Recombinant Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone Use Eliminates 1-Thyroxine Suppressive Therapy - Doctor's Guide, 1/12/01
• FDA Approves Unithroid (Levothyroxine), Thyroid Hormone Replacement, For Use In Adults And Children - Doctor's Guide, 8/23/00
• U.S. FDA clears treatment for underactive thyroid - CNN, 8/23/00
• Calcium Supplements May Interfere With Thyroid Treatment - WebMD, 6/6/00
• What Feels Like Stress May Call for a Thyroid Test - WebMD, 4/21/00
• Thyroid HRT No Better Than Placebo In Euthyroid Patients - Doctor's Guide, 3/17/00
• Thyroid HRT Potentially Dangerous - Doctor's Guide, 3/17/00
• Prevalence Of Thyroid Disease In US Higher Than Suspected - Doctor's Guide, 2/28/00
• Premature graying: Usually no cause for alarm - CNN, 11/10/99 - "Premature graying can occur with a number of conditions, including hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism and pernicious anemia"
• Hypothyroidism During Pregnancy Linked To Lower IQ For Child - Doctor's Guide, 8/19/99
• Low thyroid levels during pregnancy may lower child's IQ - CNN, 8/18/99
• Hair Loss and Thyroid Disease - About.com, 6/10/99
• Research Finds Most Patients Feel Better with Addition of T3, Not Levothyroxine (i.e., Synthroid) Alone!!! - about.com
• Depression and Thyroid Disease - about.com
• HELP! My TSH Is "Normal" But I Think I'm Hypothyroid - about.com, 11/10/97
• Undertreatment of Thyroid Disease Increasing Cardiovascular Risk - Doctor's Guide, 10/16/97
• Why Do You Insist on Synthroid Instead of Armour? -- A Patient's Letter - about.com