Scientific research analysis
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HISTORY: L-T3 monotherapy in 1957
Sometimes science does not retain knowledge, but rather chooses to forget. After endocrinology fell in love with L-T4 monotherapy, it was too tempting to forget the history of the OTHER monotherapy — L-T3 monotherapy. Modern doctors might assume that because they didn’t have the TSH test back then, they were blind! They had no way…
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History of the three thyroid medications
Three thyroid hormone medications have had a long history of effective use. I discuss them in chronological order, from the earliest thyroid medication to the most recently invented. No new thyroid medications have been invented since the 1950s, although all three of them have been further refined, and various manufacturers exist for each of them.…
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Fear of Low TSH causing osteoporosis
Image based on Figure 4 in this source: Gogakos, A. I., Duncan Bassett, J. H., & Williams, G. R. (2010). Thyroid and bone. Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics, 503(1), 129–136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.abb.2010.06.021 Dear Doctors, You may experience this scenario with some of your thyroid patients. Your patient’s TSH is near the bottom of reference range, but…
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When is Low TSH not hyperthyroidism?
Q: When is a low TSH not hyperthyroidism? The answer is huge — in central hypothyroidism, in low T3 syndrome, in the first trimester of pregnancy… AND in cases where thyroid therapy achieves euthyroid status without causing tissue thyrotoxicosis. In many posts on this blog, we’ve detailed the reasons why TSH is a poor indicator…
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Thyroid patients excluded from research
Thyroid patients on thyroid therapy are commonly excluded from the study of “Low T3 Syndrome.” What is “Low T3 syndrome”? Why is it important to study? This is the phenomenon of T3 thyroid hormone inactivation that often occurs in critical illness and puts their lives in great danger. Some thyroid patients know from experience that…