Natural desiccated thyroid for the treatment of hypothyroidism?

Primary hypothyroidism affects about 3% of the general population in Europe. Early treatments in the late 19 Century involved subcutaneous as well as oral administration of thyroid extract. Until the early 1970s, the majority of people across the world with hypothyroidism were treated with natural d...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Frontiers in endocrinology (Lausanne) 2024-01, Vol.14, p.1309159-1309159
Main Authors:	Heald, Adrian H, Taylor, Peter, Premawardhana, Lakdasa, Stedman, Mike, Dayan, Colin
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Administration, Oral Animals cost Endocrinology Humans hypothyroidism Hypothyroidism - drug therapy liothyronine NDT Swine Thyroxine - therapeutic use treatment unresponsive Triiodothyronine
Online Access:	Get full text
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Summary:	Primary hypothyroidism affects about 3% of the general population in Europe. Early treatments in the late 19 Century involved subcutaneous as well as oral administration of thyroid extract. Until the early 1970s, the majority of people across the world with hypothyroidism were treated with natural desiccated thyroid (NDT) (derived from pig thyroid glands) in various formulations, with the majority of people since then being treated with levothyroxine (L-thyroxine). There is emerging evidence that may account for the efficacy of liothyronine (NDT contains a mixture of levothyroxine and liothyronine) in people who are symptomatically unresponsive to levothyroxine. While this is a highly selected group of people, the severity and chronicity of their symptoms and the fact that many patients have found their symptoms to be alleviated, can be viewed as valid evidence for the potential benefit of NDT when given after careful consideration of other differential diagnoses and other treatment options.
ISSN:	1664-2392 1664-2392