Thyroid gland disease treatment

Iodine is an essential nutrient element required for thyroid gland. It is added to salt and to animal feeds for the prevention of goiter. In medicine it is used as a therapeutic reagent for the treatment of various thyroid-related diseases. It also is used as an antiseptic. Radioactive isotopes of iodine are used for treating thyroid cancer, heart diseases including tachycardia, and as a tracer for diagnosing certain diseases. 

Calcitonin is a peptide hormone produced in the thyroid gland that serves to lower serum calcium and phosphate levels by inhibiting bone resorption. Calcitonin has been used in the treatment of a variety of diseases, such as primary hyperparathyroidism, Paget s disease, and postmenopausal osteoporosis [99,100]. Salmon calcitonin has a longer half-life than human calcitonin. Salmon calcitonin, 3.6 kDa, is available as a nasal formulation that contains only benzalkonium chloride as a preservative, without an absorption enhancer, and as a parenteral product for injection. The direct effect of benzalkonium chloride on the nasal mucosa is under... 

For example, it was demonstrated by such methods that phosphorus assimilated from the soil by tomato plants tends to concentrate in the stems and certain parts of the leaves. Similarly, radioactive zinc was used to show that this element localizes in the seeds of tomatoes. The rate of absorption of iodine by the thyroid gland was established by the use of radioactive iodine this and related work did much to add to the understanding of the diagnosis and treatment of goiter. These and many similar uses of radioactive isotopes show that these substances have been of inestimable value in the study of the mechanism of chemical reactions, problems relating to plant and animal metabolism, and the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. 

There are relatively few situations in which the administration of a radiopharmaceutical to the patient can be used for treatment of disease. The oldest and best known of these applications is the treatment of overactivity of the thyroid gland and of some types of... 

Many structural or functional abnormalities of the thyroid gland can lead to thyroid hormone deficiency (Box 52-2). Primary hypothyroidism is frequently caused by diseases or treatments that directly destroy thyroid tissue or interfere with thyroid hormone biosynthesis. Secondary hypothyroidism occurs as a result of pituitary or hypothalamic disease and/or disorders. 

Concurrent administration of thyroxine with thionamide therapy for thyrotoxicosis and subchnical hyperthyroidism may reduce autoantibodies directed toward the thyroid gland and improve the remission rate however, these effects have not been consistently observed in aU studies. " In a Japanese study, adjunctive treatment with thyroxine was associated with a 20-fold reduction in the recurrence rate of Graves disease compared with the recurrence rate seen in patients treated with antithyroid drugs alone. Attempts to reproduce these results in American and European patients with Graves disease have failed to show any delay or reduction in the recurrence of Graves disease with thyroxine administration. ... 

C. Calcitonin Calcitonin, a peptide hormone secreted by the thyroid gland, decreases bone resorption and serum calcium and phosphate (Figure 42-2). Bone formation is not impaired initially, but ultimately it is reduced. The hormone has been used in conditions in which an acute reduction of serum calcium is needed, eg, Paget s disease and hypercalcemia. While calcitonin is approved for treatment of osteoporosis, it is questionable whether long-term use prevents fractures. Although human calcitonin is available, salmon calcitonin is most often selected for clinical use because of its longer half-Ufe and greater potency. Calcitonin is administered by injection or as a nasal spray. 

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