5 steps to individually-optimized thyroid therapy

Patients should not have to cross their fingers, wait, and hope for change. The hopes of hypo- and hyperthyroid patients focus on attaining individually-optimized treatment. Their hopes, wishes, and requests are not unreasonable. Effective treatment ought to alleviate symptoms and improve health outcomes. Relative changes in thyroid hormone doses have a measurable effect on certain … Continue reading 5 steps to individually-optimized thyroid therapy

Japanese thyroid scientists examine symptoms in relation to FT3 and TSH

I would like to applaud a 2019 article by Mitsuru Ito and colleagues from the Center for Excellence in Thyroid Care at Kuma Hospital, Kobe, Japan. Dear researchers, your article, "Thyroid function related symptoms during monotherapy in athyreotic patients" showcased research on Free T3 levels and symptoms that is potentially meaningful to the life and … Continue reading Japanese thyroid scientists examine symptoms in relation to FT3 and TSH

Discordance in thyroid symptoms reported by patients and their doctors

There's no surprise that patients and doctors would disagree about the incidence rate of hypothyroid symptoms in a given patient. "We have an average of 7.2 symptoms per patient" says the cohort of 262 patients. "No, you have an average of 4.0 symptoms per patient," says the cohort of 100 doctors about those 262 patients. … Continue reading Discordance in thyroid symptoms reported by patients and their doctors

The loss of thyroid clinical knowledge from Werner & Ingbar’s The Thyroid

Decades ago, a lot more doctors knew how thyroid hormone levels influenced all organs and tissues’ health. It wasn’t all about the influence of thyroid hormones on the TSH. It was more about the influence of truly adequate thyroid hormone levels on real health outcomes. A lot more doctors learned and understood that if thyroid … Continue reading The loss of thyroid clinical knowledge from Werner & Ingbar’s The Thyroid

Pregnancy thyrotoxicosis vs just a low TSH due to hCG hormone

Table 17.1 in Braverman & Cooper's 2013 chapter in Werner & Ingbar's The Thyroid textbook, 10th edition, lists many causes of thyrotoxicosis. One of the interesting causes of thyrotoxicosis, rarely mentioned in public discourse, is "Circulating hCG or Mutant TSHR [TSH receptor] hypersensitive to hCG." What is hCG? "Human chorionic gonadotropin" is a hormone produced … Continue reading Pregnancy thyrotoxicosis vs just a low TSH due to hCG hormone