Patients ready to receive radioactive iodine therapy Photo by Cai Minjie
China News, Guangzhou, May 24th (Cai Minjie Liang Jiayun) May The 25th to 31st is the International Thyroid Knowledge Awareness Week. In recent years, the occurrence of thyroid diseases has attracted more and more public attention. Yue Dianchao, deputy director of the Department of Nuclear Medicine of the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, said in an interview recently that the best way to deal with thyroid diseases is to have regular physical examinations, early prevention, early diagnosis, early screening, and early treatment.
The thyroid is the largest endocrine gland in the human endocrine system. It is a butterfly-shaped gland on the neck of people. It is composed of glands that secrete and control hormones in the body. regulation, synthesis and secretion of thyroxine.
Thyroxine acts on the corresponding organs of the human body to exert physiological effects, with a very wide range of effects, covering almost all tissues and organs in the body, mainly on metabolism, development and growth, nervous system, cardiovascular system, digestive system, etc. influential. Therefore, thyroid disease requires early treatment.
Abnormal thyroid function can lead to various abnormal manifestations in the body, which can be roughly divided into two categories: one is hypothyroidism, referred to as hypothyroidism; the other is hyperthyroidism, referred to as hyperthyroidism.
According to reports, thyroid disease is the second largest disease in the field of endocrine. Affected by multiple factors such as environment and diet, the incidence of thyroid disease in the adult population in my country is increasing year by year.
Yue Dianchao said that there are currently three main clinical methods for the treatment of hyperthyroidism, namely taking antithyroid drugs, “drinking iodine” and surgical treatment, all of which are in clinical application.
“Oral drugs are milder, but require maintenance therapy for 1 to 2 years, and there is a high recurrence rate after drug withdrawal. Some patients may experience side effects such as leukopenia and liver damage, and regular monitoring is required. And once ‘drinking iodine’, more than 80% of the symptoms will be improved, and even return to normal, but it may also cause ‘hypothyroidism'”.
Yue Dianchao said that not everyone can accept the alternative treatment after “hypothyroidism” occurs.
The “drinking iodine” in Yue Dianchao’s mouth refers to iodine-131 treatment. In 1936, Saul Hertz, a thyroid doctor at Harvard Medical School in the United States, initiated radioactive iodine to treat hyperthyroidism, which has benefited many hyperthyroid patients since then.
According to Yue Dianchao’s introduction, iodine 131 can release a kind of ray beta ray, and the uptake of iodine 131I in hyperthyroid patients is significantly higher than that in normal thyroid tissue. Using the biological effects of ionizing radiation of rays to inhibit and destroy the hyperactive thyroid tissue, just like surgical resection, it reduces the synthesis and secretion of thyroid hormones and restores thyroid function to normal, so as to achieve the purpose of treatment. “In the United States, radioactive iodine Treatment is the treatment of choice for adults with hyperthyroidism.”
Yue Dianchao further stated that due to the long treatment time of hyperthyroidism and the high recurrence rate, iodine 131 is especially suitable for female patients with recent reproductive requirements, patients with recurrence of hyperthyroidism, and patients with obvious goiter, etc. . After the occurrence of “hypothyroidism”, thyroid hormone replacement therapy can be taken for a long time. “This drug has good clinical controllability, and it is easy to make the human body’s thyroid hormone level reach a level that meets the physiological needs of the human body, without affecting fertility.”
“There is no cure for ‘hyperthyroidism’ that has neither recurrence nor ‘hypothyroidism’.” Regarding the prospect of radioactive iodine treatment of “hyperthyroidism” in the future, Yue Dianchao said that it is necessary to strive for the first place. The rate of cure and remission is less than 2 times; some patients who do not have complete remission can be treated with low-dose antithyroid drugs to delay the occurrence of “hypothyroidism”. (End)