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Levothyroxine Decreases Risk of Atherosclerosis in Women with Subclinical Hypothyroidism: Presented at AACE

By Paula Moyer

SAN DIEGO, CA -- May 18, 2003 -- Levothyroxine appears to decrease the risk of atherosclerosis for women with subclinical hypothyroidism, researchers reported here on May 15^th at the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists 12^th Annual Meeting and Clinical Congress.

The researchers, from Kocaeli University Medical School, Kocaeli, Turkey, also found that women with subclinical hypothyroidism have high levels of several clotting factors, and decreased levels of antithrombotic factors.

"These findings point to the urgency of more routine thyroid-function screening in women," stated Zeyney Cantürk, MD, an endocrinology fellow at Kocaeli University Medical School, who collaborated in her research with Nuh Zafer Cantürk, a general surgeon and faculty member at Kocaeli University.

"Physicians must screen for thyroid-stimulating hormone [TSH] levels in women in their 40's whether or not they have hypothyroidism symptoms," Dr. Cantürk said. "In [cases of] subclinical disease, the risks for atherosclerosis will be progressing."

The study was designed to determine whether hypofibrinolysis could be a marker for subclinical hypothyroidism. The researchers recruited 35 female patients with subclinical hypothyroidism, and compared several of their prothrombotic and antithrombotic factors with those of 30 women with normal thyroid levels. In the hypothyroid group, the investigators measured these factors before and after treatment with levothyroxine.

Compared to controls, the hypothyroid women had significantly elevated levels of fibrinogen, plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI-1), and factor VII (P<0.0001). They also had lower levels of antithrombin III activity (P<0.05). When the hypothyroid women were treated with levothyroxine, they had significant decreases in both PAI-1 and factor VII (P<0.001).

"These findings show that subclinical hypothyroidism may play an important role in promoting both hypofibrinolytic and hypercoagulable states, and therefore leading to the development of atherosclerosis in female patients," Dr. Cantürk said. "Fortunately, levothyroxine treatment appears to decrease the risk of atherosclerosis in subclinical disease."


[Study title: Hemostatic System as a Risk Factor for Cardiovascular Disease in Women with Subclinical Hypothyroidism. Abstract 78]

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