Thyroid patients who have difficult, by-the-book and medically-rigid doctors (like the vast majority of Endocrinologists, reported by too many patients) often ask if there is anything out there to support what patients ALREADY know by their experience. Slowly but surely, we are finding them.

This page will list professional research, articles, opinions and links which support what we already know…or are at least in the right direction. And you can use these to support your argument with your black-and-white physician that certain thyroid treatments do NOT work, and there IS a better way to do all this.

***FOUND MORE RESEARCH ARTICLES THAT WOULD HELP THIS PAGE?? Use the Contact Me form to send the link to the article or comment. Remember: I’m only seeking research that can be used to help doctors understand better thyroid treatment, as well as which challenges their bad information.

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THYROXINE WAS NO MORE EFFECTIVE THAN A PLACEBO: Thyroxine was no more effective than placebo in improving cognitive function and psychological wellbeing in patients with symptoms of hypothyroidism. Thyroxine did not improve cognitive function and psychological wellbeing in healthy participants. http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/323/7318/891

THERE’S BETTER TREATMENT THAN SIMPLY SYNTHROID OR OTHER T4-ONLY MEDS: At the 90th annual meeting of the Endocrine Society, June 2008, it was announced that T3 can be an effective substitute for T4. And…the target TSH was .5 – 1.5. http://www.endocrinetoday.com/view.aspx?rid=28931 COMMENT: Even though being on desiccated thyroid, with its T4, T3, T2, T1 and calcitonin, is even better according to the experience of hundreds of thousands, this announcement is at least a good step in the right direction. Hopefully, they will take the final step!

T4 COMBINED WITH T3 GIVES BETTER RESULTS:

  1. As far back as 1999, the New Journal of Medicine reported superior results of a synthetic T4 and T3 combination treatment, especially on the brain and other tissues.  http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/340/6/424
  2. And another one titled Thyroid Insuffiency: Is Thyroxine the Only Valuable Drug,   Journal of Nutritional & Environmental Medicine, Volume 11, Number 3, 1 September 2001 , pp. 159-166(8), here: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/routledg/cjne/2001/00000011/00000003/art00002;jsessionid=lciik5f9j3en.alexandra
  3. And here’s another one from 2009 sent by Paul: http://www.eje-online.org/cgi/content/abstract/EJE-09-0542v1 (has a fee) but here’s where you can at least see the abstract: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19666698 They evaluated depression and anxiety rating scales as well as patients own preference.
  4. Also this one:  http://www.endocrine-abstracts.org/ea/0013/ea0013P316.htm
  5. At first blush, this Amsterdam study appears to give the same propaganda of T4 only. But as you read on, it mentions this: Third, recent animal experiments indicate that only the combination of T4 and T3 replacement, and not T4 alone, ensures euthyroidism in all tissues of thyroidectomized rats. From 2001, Developmental Endocrinology to Clinical Research: http://content.karger.com/ProdukteDB/produkte.asp?Aktion=ShowAbstract&ArtikelNr=48140&Ausgabe=227546&ProduktNr=224036

A GENE VARIATION AFFECTS THE ABILITY TO CONVERT T4 to T3 IN SOME (i.e. justifying adding T3 to T4, or even better, using desiccated thyroid). From the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism comes this article titled:  “Common Variation in the DIO2 gene predicts baseline psychological well-being and response to combination thyroxine plus triiodothyronine therapy in hypothyroid patients” May 2009,94(5):1623-1629.

Research conclusion: “Commonly inherited variation in the deiodinase 2 gene (DIO2 ) is associated with impaired baseline psychological well-being on T4 and enhanced response to combination T4/T3 therapy but did not affect serum thyroid hormone levels. A large patient study found that 16% of the study population had a variant DIO2 gene which impairs the ability of T4 to be converted to T3. Thanks to Terry for sending this!

HEART ISSUES FROM T4-ONLY TREATMENT: The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism has reported that long-term levothyroxine replacement therapy in young adults is associated with cardiovascular abnormalities. http://jcem.endojournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/93/7/2486 2008  COMMENT: Of course, thyroid patients have known this a longggg time as they watched their cholesterol and Triglycerides rise while on a lousy T4-medication, and some end up with heart problems. But this finally gives some research on a FACT.

A SUPPRESSIVE TSH DOES NOT CAUSE BONE PROBLEMS: This PubMed article from 2005 is about research which shows that even suppressive doses of T4 does not negatively affect bone mineral density. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16269872 And this one from 1993: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8252740 COMMENT: even though these studies used the ineffective T4-only medications, it’s evidence that suppressive doses are not the buggaboo for bone loss.

EARLY COMMENTS ABOUT PROBLEMS WITH THE TSH: This was a short forum with comments by David Derry, Raymond Peat, and individuals:  http://www.bmj.com/cgi/eletters/314/7088/1175#26029 COMMENT:  you can see the blossoming of doubt about the TSH in these posts from 1999 to 2002.

CELIAC DISEASE IS A STRONG PREDICTOR OF ALSO HAVING HYPOTHYROIDISM: From the Oct. 2008 issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism come this article which states people with celiac disease had a greater than fourfold increased risk of being diagnosed with hypothyroidism, a threefold increased risk of suffering hyperthyroidism, and a 3.6-fold increased risk of developing thyroiditis. http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081118/hl_nm/us_thyroid_celiac_1

MISCELLANEOUS RESEARCH TO SUPPORT BETTER TREATMENT: From Hot Thyroidology and the Journal owned by the European Thyroid Association, this is a 247 pages of research on topics such as Thyroid Cancer, Thyroid Metabolism, Iodine, Autoimmunity, and much much more. http://www.hotthyroidology.com/downloads/eta_abstractbook_2007.pdf COMMENT: I confess that I haven’t made my way through all of it, but if you do it, you may find some real gems in this!

BIPOLAR CAN BE STRONGLY RELATED TO UNDIAGNOSED OR POOR THYROID TREATMENT: Dr. Peter Whybrow, a world-renowned expert on bipolar disorder, published his findings in the journal Molecular Psychiatry about the connection between thyroid and bi-polar. But it’s hard to find on the net. Instead, here is one of several other articles which talks about this connection: http://www.psycheducation.org/thyroid/introduction.htm

MISCARRIAGES CAN BE RELATED TO HYPOTHYROID or POOR THYROID TREATMENT: The following link takes you to a website with a study of pregnant women with “normal” TSH, but who are positive for antibodies, who have fewer miscarriages following thyroid treatment. Medscape requires a log-in, but it’s free, and it sends regular e-mails on the latest research according to your preferred topics. www.medscape.com/ COMMENT: Once again, this article proves that a so-called normal TSH means squat, and miscarriages can have a strong connection to your undiagnosed or undertreated hypo state.

BREAST CANCER AND THYROID PROBLEMS CAN BE RELATED: Many studies have been coming out about the connection, and especially as related to your iodine levels.  Here is one titled from 2003 “The thyroid, iodine and breast cancer” from Breast Cancer Res and PubMed. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12927031 plus “Breast Cancer in Association with Thyroid Disorders” http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12927040 From 2009: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19810133

T3 IS NOT ONLY ANTI-CANCER IN YOUR LIVER, BUT CAN HELP YOUR LIVER TO REGENERATE: From the American Association for Cancer Research, this research study shows that T3 can not only be anti-cancer, but actually help your liver to form new cells: http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/60/3/603 COMMENT: This article shows that T3 REDUCES liver nodules, and you can wonder what T3 might do against cancer elsewhere in your body.

DO WE NEED MORE TRIALS ON T4 and T3 COMBINATION THERAPY IN HYPOTHYROIDISM? Yup, this is a real live article title from the European Journal of Endocrinology, Oct. 6, 2009. And patients on desiccated thyroid can shout a resounding YES, YES, YES! We know the truth. When are you? Comically, the beginning of this article states that “10% of hypothyroid patients are dissatisfied with the outcome of levothyroxine replacement. It is unlikely that slight over- or under-treatment with T4 explains remaining complaints.”   NOT. The rest is good. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19808902?ordinalpos=9&itool=Email.EmailReport.Pubmed_ReportSelector.Pubmed_RVDocSum

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