Treatment of Hypercholesterolemia in Human Subjects with Sodium D-Thyroxine

¹ St. Louis Park Medical Center

We have observed the effect of treatment with 4 to 8 mg. of sodium D-thyroxine on the serum cholesterol levels of 41 patients. Our results (10 per cent decline in four weeks; 2 to 15 per cent decline over six months) are less encouraging than those of most others. Individual protocols have been presented to illustrate excellent responses and complete lack of responses, and we do not know why. It seems possible that people differ sufficiently in their cholesterol metabolism that we are not studying a homogeneous group of patients.

Certainly there is reason to believe that attempting to lower the serum cholesterol is a worthwhile endeavor to prevent atherosclerosis, with thyroid analogues as well as by other means. Further experience with sodium D-thyroxine, as well as other thyroid analogues, plus increased understanding of cholesterol metabolism in health and disease, may eventually help to solve the problem of hypercholesterolemia and related increased atherogenesis.