Last Free Issue of Clinical Thyroidology is available

[PR4NOW]

Starting in 2014 you will have to pay to get copies of "Clinical Thyroidology" put out by the ATA. The last free issue is available here. PR

thyroid.org/wp-content/uplo...

[Hennerton]

Thanks but I shan't be rushing to sign up for this. It does us no favours in respect of dosage of sub clinical hypothyroidism and is equally carping on the use of NDT. A study revealed that 49 per cent of participants felt better on NDT against Levo but somehow this means nothing and apparently a worrying aspect is that T3 levels three hours after taking a dose are too high. Have they seen the recent Italian study, showing the same problem with Levo, which may also cause lung cancer? The fact is that whatever we take to mimic our own defunct thyroid is never going to be perfect but reports like this just make it harder for patients to get diagnosed and then to feel well on whatever they are graciously allowed to take. Spare me any more biased endos please and a Happy New Year to all!

[PR4NOW in reply to Hennerton]

Hennerton, my position is we need to be aware of what they are thinking and publishing in order to find the holes in their logic and methods. This is not a pastime for everyone but some of us do enjoy it. Occasionally you even find some good science which helps to expand the boundaries of our knowledge. PR

[Hennerton in reply to PR4NOW]

I take your point but am simply frustrated by finding the holes in their logic and methods and being helpless to do anything about it. Furthermore, I assume that my new endo may well see this and feel ever more vindicated in his refusal to prescribe NDT, albeit apparently 49 per cent preferred it. How can this finding be brushed aside so casually?

The study then mentions just two patients being tested both before and after their dose, with results that are high in respect of T3. Why is it even mentioned other than to raise alarm bells in endos reading it? A study of two is not worthy of being printed. To me it just reeks of big Pharma's interfering and powerful hand.

Please do not take my fury personally. Of course we want to see good studies. We all need to know the truth but the truth seems hard to find and even when it appears, it is usually refuted.

The recent Italian study on lung cancer, caused by oxidative stress in female Levo patients has crept in very quietly and seems to be causing no alarm. I think big Pharma will be making sure that it creeps away again very quietly. It may be considered a flawed study but certainly produced some interesting and concerning facts. Not the kind they want to be spread around too much!

Thank you anyway for posting. Yes, we need to know the devil we are dealing with...

[jimh111]

Thank-you for this. You can also become a 'Friend' of the ATA and get updates by e-mail.

The study on "overtreated" patients with "subclinical" hypothyroidism is disappointing and loaded. It makes the assumption that research into TSH and mortality in the general public applies to treatment of patients with clinical signs. Many of the patients prescribed thyroxine did not have symptoms! And it's thought that GP targets may be responsible for some of the prescribing. Unintentionally, this paper is an argument for diagnosis and treatment based on signs and symptoms rather than numbers. The team that worked on this study are exceptional, they previously showed that some patients treated with levothyroxine do not fully recover and discovered a mutation of the DIO2 gene that leads to impaired T4 to T3 conversion and the need for L-T3 supplementation.

The letter on dessicated thyroid extract (DTE) and T3 peaks is of poor quality (ignores the pharmocodynamics of T3) but it was this journal that published the original DTE study.

Jim.

[helvella Administrator in reply to jimh111]

I feel that it is quite right and proper to criticise individual studies/papers - even if that extends to every one they ever mention. Thank you for making your valid points. But we do need to know what is being said in the world of endocrinology even if it stinks. So, unlike some others, I do think it worth continuing to get the email- if they send it to me!

Rod

[PR4NOW in reply to helvella]

Rod, as often happens, I couldn't agree more with what you said. PR

[helvella Administrator in reply to PR4NOW]

As so often, ...

[PR4NOW in reply to jimh111]

Jim, thanks for your comments, I missed the DIO2 gene tie in, I should have recognized the names. PR