The updated guidelines from the American Thyroid Association were published recently in the journal Thyroid.
The thyroid gland produces hormones that control the way every cell in the body uses energy. For example, thyroid hormones control how fast you burn calories and how fast your heart beats. If the thyroid gland produces too little thyroid hormone to control these activities the condition is called hypothyroidism.
A task force convened by the thyroid association reviewed available medical literature and found no evidence that other types of thyroid hormone replacements are better than L-T4, which has long been the standard of care for patients with hypothyroidism. Brand names for L-T4 include Synthroid and Levoxyl.
However, while L-T4 is effective in most patients, some do not regain ideal health when taking L-T4 alone, the authors noted.
The guidelines “provide useful, up-to-date information on why to treat, including subclinical disease, who to treat, and how to treat hypothyroidism,” Dr. Hossein Gharib, president of the thyroid association, said in a journal news release.
“Information is evidence-based and recommendations are graded. I think they will be used extensively by all clinical endocrinologists, especially by our members,” added Gharib, a professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester, Minn.
