Thyroid Strategies for Primary Care-Is It My Thyroid-The Evidence For and Against Combination Thyroid Hormone Therapy

Video Transcription

Video Summary

Dr. Bianco discusses the topic of combination therapy in the treatment of hypothyroidism. He explains that while levothyroxine is the standard treatment for hypothyroidism, there are some patients who remain symptomatic on this therapy. These patients may experience cognitive and metabolic symptoms and have lower levels of T3 in their blood. Dr. Bianco discusses the reasons behind these symptoms, including the fact that some patients may not be effectively converting T4 to T3. He also explains that there have been clinical trials comparing combination therapy with monotherapy, but the results have been variable. However, he notes that patients who are symptomatic on levothyroxine may benefit from combination therapy. Dr. Bianco emphasizes the importance of proper patient selection for combination therapy, as well as the need to exclude other potential causes of their symptoms before starting this therapy. He also mentions that while combination therapy is generally safe, more research is needed to fully understand its safety and efficacy. Overall, Dr. Bianco suggests that combination therapy can be a potential option for patients who do not respond well to levothyroxine alone, but further studies are needed to determine its effectiveness.

Keywords

combination therapy

hypothyroidism

levothyroxine

symptomatic

cognitive symptoms

metabolic symptoms

T3 levels

T4 to T3 conversion

clinical trials

monotherapy