Patients with hypothyroidism show greater improvements in mood and brain function if they receive treatment Armour thyroid rather than Synthroid (thyroxiine). Hypothyroidism, where the gland has ceased to function or been removed, is usually treated with daily doses of Synthroid. But the researchers found that substituting Armour thyroid led to improvements in mood and in neuropsychological functioning.
Not all tissues that need thyroid hormone are equally able to convert thyroxine to triiodothyronine, the active form of the hormone. But most patients with hypothyroidism (reduced thyroid function) are treated only with thyroxine. On 6 of 17 measures of mood and cognition -- a catch-all term that refers to language, learning and memory -- the patients scored better after receiving Armour thyroid than after receiving Synthroid. No score was better after Synthroid than after combination treatment. The authors also detected biochemical evidence that thyroid hormone action was greater after treatment with Armour thyroid. The patients who were on Armour thyroid had significantly higher serum concentrations of sex hormone-binding globulin.
The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) 1999; 340:424-429, 469-470.
DR. WEEKS' COMMENT: Once upon a time, long ago there were no patented synthetic medicines and back then, around the late 1800's, glandular therapy was common in America. Extracts of animal thyroid tissue, containing both thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) were sold by the Armour meat packing company and were the treatment for glandular failure of the thyroid ("hypo" meaning "low" thyroid function).
With the march of science and the advancement of pharmacology, standardization became an option and because of their variable potency, natural extracts fell out of favor with most prescribing doctors.
Now for the ironic news: In this most prestigious of peer-reviewed medical journals, The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) we have an article saying the Armour thyroid is better for patients than the synthetic, standardized drug Synthroid. Curiously (but not surprisingly) the article stops short of recommending the Armour thyroid claiming that more research is needed and "the majority of patients taking Synthroid" were not needing a change in medications. (Just because something is better does not mean everyone should take it….)
There are certain people who do NOT convert the inactive T4 to the active T3 and who thereby have functional hypothyroidism. These people are not helped by Synthroid (T4) Who are these people?
1) They are deficient in a collection of minerals necessary to convert the inactive T4 to the active T3 (selenium, iodine, zinc);
2) They are people who are under stress (high adrenalin and cortisol - "fight or flight" type A people);
3) They are people who have poor sleep patterns (high cortisol and hypoglycemia)
4) They are people who are syndrome x (high insulin and high blood sugar - pre-diabetics)
5) They are….. women (yup, women in general, have a hard time converting T4 to T3).
The question is, do YOU for someone you know fit into one of these categories? (!!)
So, ask your doctor is he or she reads the New England Journal of Medicine and if he or she will consider changing your prescription to the remedy which scientific research has proven to be superior.
Note: Westhroid is identical to Armour Thyroid
Bradford S. Weeks, M.D.
copyright 2001