Join the 'Underactive Thyroid' group to help and get support from people like you. How it works
Screening Moms-to-Be for Thyroid Trouble May Not Help Offspring
Posted 8 Feb 2012 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 8 – Screening and treating expectant moms for thyroid problems at the end of the first trimester doesn't improve children's IQs at age 3, a new study finds. Thyroid hormones are crucial for the development of a baby's brain and nervous system, and until the middle of the second trimester, those hormones come from the mother. Since a malfunctioning thyroid in the mother has been associated with mental impairments in her child, researchers reasoned that if they screened for maternal thyroid disease in pregnancy and treated any problems found, they might be able to improve function in the offspring. Treatment includes supplementary thyroid hormone medications such as levothyroxine. However, this large study found that the intervention did not seem to help. "This trial failed to show any beneficial effect on cognitive [mental] function in 3-year-old children whose mothers ... Read more
Related support groups: Synthroid, Levothyroxine, Hypothyroidism, Underactive Thyroid, Levoxyl, Levothroid, Eltroxin, Euthyrox, Levothyrox, Tirosint, Eutroxsig, Oroxine, Levotabs, Evotrox, Levo-T
Buyer, Beware of Over-the-Counter Thyroid Supplements: Study
Posted 4 Nov 2011 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, Nov. 4 – Over-the-counter "thyroid support" supplements commonly used for weight loss and to fight fatigue are mostly ineffective and may pose a health threat, a new study warns. The supplements contain widely varying amounts of two kinds of thyroid hormones – triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4) – apparently derived largely from chopped up animal thyroid glands, according to senior investigator Dr. Victor Bernet, an endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic in Florida. These two hormones are regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and intended for use only in prescription drugs because they can cause serious health problems, including increased heart rate, heart irregularities and palpitations, nervousness and diarrhea, he explained. The researchers analyzed 10 commercially available OTC thyroid supplements and found that nine contained T3 and five of them would ... Read more
Related support groups: Hypothyroidism, Underactive Thyroid
Mainstay Meds Often Cut Off Accidentally After Hospital Stay
Posted 23 Aug 2011 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, Aug. 23 – Many patients who are hospitalized fail to receive their regular medications for chronic conditions during their stay and often fail to restart them when they're discharged, researchers say. Patients treated in the intensive care unit (ICU) are even less likely to resume their regular medication schedule after discharge, probably because there are so many "transitions of care" to different units within the hospital and so many different care teams involved, the study found. "Sometimes we do a pretty good job of taking care of people in the hospital, but we don't do a great job of making the transition back to the community," said Dr. Chaim Bell, lead author of a study published in the Aug. 24/31 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. "That can lead to whole host of problems." Unintended discontinuation of vital medications can lead to another ... Read more
Related support groups: GERD, Synthroid, Asthma, Levothyroxine, High Cholesterol, Hypothyroidism, Simvastatin, Lipitor, Crestor, Underactive Thyroid, Pravastatin, Levoxyl, Zocor, Lovastatin, Levothroid
Exposure to Common Chemicals May Affect Thyroid Function
Posted 14 Jul 2011 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, July 14 – Chemicals called phthalates and bisphenol-A (BPA) that are found in solvents, plastics and numerous household products may alter levels of thyroid hormones in the body, according to a new study. Thyroid hormones play a role in many critical bodily functions, including reproduction and metabolism. Researchers from the University of Michigan School of Public Health used data from the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to compare thyroid levels and traces of phthalates and BPA in urine samples of 1,346 adults and 329 teenagers. Their findings confirmed previous research linking BPA – used in certain plastic water bottles and the linings of canned foods – with disruptions in thyroid hormone levels, they said. Overall, higher concentrations of the chemicals had an inverse impact on thyroid levels, said study lead author John Meeker, an assistant ... Read more
Related support groups: Hypothyroidism, Underactive Thyroid
With the Thyroid, Too Much or Too Little Spark Trouble
Posted 11 Apr 2011 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, April 8 – The human body's intricate framework of interconnected systems, which work together to maintain health and life, depend on one small, butterfly-shaped gland that weighs less than half an ounce. The thyroid gland, located in the front of the neck, releases hormones that regulate metabolism, directing the body to break down food into energy and then either use it immediately or store it for later use. "The thyroid gland is essential to life," said Dr. Peter A. Singer, a professor of endocrinology at the University of Southern California, a past president of the American Thyroid Association and a board member of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists. "If you didn't have a thyroid gland, you could not survive." When disease strikes the thyroid, this directly affects the body's metabolism by altering the amount of hormone produced by the gland. Too little ... Read more
Related support groups: Hypothyroidism, Underactive Thyroid, Hyperthyroidism
Studies Evaluate Thyroid Treatment During Pregnancy
Posted 16 Jul 2010 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, Sept. 25 – Thyroid problems in pregnant women can cause serious consequences in both mothers and children, says an expert familiar with ongoing research into treatments. An update on clinical trials was to be presented Friday at the annual meeting of the American Thyroid Association, in Palm Beach, Fla. "Detection and management of thyroid dysfunction during pregnancy is important for many reasons," Dr. Alex Stagnaro-Green, senior associate dean at the Touro University College of Medicine in New Jersey, said in a news release from the association. "For pregnant women with hypothyroidism, there is an increased risk for miscarriage, an increased preterm delivery, an increased risk for decreased IQ and visual motor defects for their offspring." Stagnaro-Green said that researchers at the U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development are conducting a randomized ... Read more
Related support groups: Hypothyroidism, Underactive Thyroid
Slightly Underactive Thyroid May Be a Plus
Posted 12 Jun 2009 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, June 12 – Instead of being a medical problem in need of treatment, an underactive thyroid in old age might actually help you live longer, a new study says. Researchers tested the levels of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) in 236 Ashkenazi Jews, who were about 100 years old, and their children, most of whom were in their 70s. For comparison with people not related by blood, they tested the TSH levels of the children's spouses. The study found that the Ashkenazi centenarians had slightly elevated levels of TSH, which is a sign of mild hypothyroidism, or an underactive thyroid. The centenarian's children also had slightly elevated levels of TSH, compared with that of their spouses. The thyroid, a butterfly-shaped gland in the front of the neck, helps regulate metabolism. Though researchers aren't sure why, a slightly slower metabolism might promote longevity. "This is sort of a ... Read more
Related support groups: Underactive Thyroid
Ask a Question
Further Information
Related Condition Support Groups
Hypothyroidism - After Thyroid Removal, Myxedema, Thyroid Disease
Related Drug Support Groups
Synthroid, levothyroxine, Armour Thyroid, Levoxyl, Levothroid, Cytomel, Eltroxin, liothyronine, Nature-Throid, view more... thyroid desiccated, Westhroid, Euthyrox, Thyrolar, Levothyrox, Tirosint, Eutroxsig, Oroxine, Thyrolar-3, liotrix, Thyrolar-1/4, Thyrolar-1/2, Triostat, Thyrolar-2, Thyrolar-1, Evotrox, Unithroid, Levotabs, Levotec, L Thyroxine Roche, Levo-T, Bio-Throid