Yikes! I have been searching on Google for an accurate description of the drug liothyronine. So far, nearly all of the sites describe it this way:
"Liothyronine is a man-made form of a hormone that is normally produced by your thyroid gland to regulate the body's energy and metabolism. Liothyronine is given when the thyroid does not produce enough of this hormone on its own."
Is there any online site considered to be a reputable source that tells users that the thyroid gland only makes a small amount of the hormone, that most is made in the liver by removing one of the iodine atoms from the T4 (thyroxine) molecules? And also that accurately tells us that liothyronine is given when the body doesn't convert enough (not that the thyroid doesn't produce enough), or when treatment with levothyroxine fails to alleviate all hypothyroid symptoms? Link please.
So far I have looked at
Drugs.com
webmd.com
medlineplus.gov
uofmhealth.org
pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
goodrx.com
rxlist.com
NOTE: This last site at least discusses the structure of the molecule and includes this text: "Cytomel (liothyronine sodium) Tablets may be used in preference to levothyroxine (T4) during radioisotope scanning procedures, since induction of hypothyroidism in those cases is more abrupt and can be of shorter duration. It may also be preferred when impairment of peripheral conversion of T4 to T3 is suspected."
I have been unable to get to mayoclinic.org. The web site is down
At the bottom of my search results, I found this link:
endocrinenews.endocrine.org...
A Controversy Continues: Combination Treatment for Hypothyroidism
*Sigh*
Or is my understanding of this drug all wrong? diogenes