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Thyroid Digest November 2007

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Recently Published Thyroid Research

Recently Published Thyroid Research These notes describing published research studies were prepared by Robert D. Utiger, M.D., from summaries of original research articles. The summaries were published in Clinical Thyroidology (Vol. 19, No. 3, 2007), a publication of the American Thyroid Association, and are available at www.thyroid.org. Dr. Utiger is the Editor-in-Chief of Clinical Thyroidology.

 

Thyroid Disease

  1. Abnormalities of serum thyrotropin concentrations are often transient
  2. Smoking stimulates thyroid-gland secretion

Hyperthyroidism

  1. Cardiac abnormalities may be the dominant manifestations of severe hyperthyroidism
  2. Major cardiac events are common after recovery from hyperthyroidism caused by amiodarone
  3. Blood-vessel inflammation and kidney disease can occur in patients with hyperthyroidism treated with propylthiouracil

Graves' Disease

  1. Recurrent hyperthyroidism after antithyroid drug therapy is common in patients with severe Graves’ eye disease

Hypothyroidism

  1. Brain injury from trauma or hemorrhage may cause pituitary hormone deficiencies
  2. Thyroxine therapy has little benefit in patients with subclinical hypothyroidism

Nodular Goiter

  1. Serum insulin-like growth factor 1 is associated with thyroid enlargement

Thyroid Hormone Therapy

  1. Absorption of thyroxine is reduced by phosphate-binding drugs in patients with severe kidney disease

Thyroid Cancer

  1. A BRAF gene mutation is common in papillary thyroid cancer, and is associated with persistent or recurrent tumor
  2. Patients with the tall-cell subtype of papillary cancer of the thyroid are more likely to have a recurrence than patients with the classic subtype
  3. Thyroidectomy in patients with thyroid cancer is rarely complete
  4. The outcome of papillary thyroid cancer is similar in patients with hyperthyroidism caused by Graves’ disease and patients with normal thyroid function
  5. Aggressive treatment may benefit patients with thyroid cancer that has spread to other tissues at the time of initial diagnosis

Postpartum Thyroid Disease

  1. Women with Graves’ disease may have postpartum thyroiditis or postpartum exacerbation of Graves’ disease

Thyroiditis

  1. Patients with silent (painless) thyroiditis may have multiple recurrences

Autoimmune Thyroid Disease

  1. The features of autoimmune thyroid disease are usually concordant in patients with thyroid nodules, and do not predict the presence of thyroid cancer

Drug Effects on Thyroid Function

  1. Hypothyroidism is a common adverse effect of amiodarone, usually occurring during the first months of treatment

Nonthyroidal Illness

  1. Reversing the fall in serum triiodothyronine during cardiac surgery does not alter the hemodynamic and metabolic responses to the surgery

 
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