Insights & Discussion
Chinese medicine could effectively improve thyroid function and the clinical symptoms of patients with diabetic nephropathy.
A meta-analysis conducted to evaluate the thyroid function of patients with DN found that it was impaired to varying degrees. Analysis of the clinical efficacy of TCM intervention in the treatment of DN showed that TCM could effectively improve the clinical symptoms of patients and improve the treatment effect. However, due to the small sample size, only the curative effect after the treatment was analyzed, and the long-term efficacy of TCM intervention in the treatment of DN remains unknown. Follow-up research of a higher quality involving larger samples, and multi-center RCT trials should be carried out to supplement the deficiencies of this research, and more accurately evaluate the clinical efficacy of TCM intervention in the treatment of DN.
Discover Related Insights
Pomegranate has been found to alleviate morphological and functional changes in the thyroid glands induced by Lithium Carbonate by controlling apoptosis and oxidative stress.
2022 The Anatomical Record Pomegranate (Punica granatum) peel alleviates lithium‐induced alterations in the thyroid gland of rats by modulating apoptosis and oxidative stress El‐Din WAN, Fadel R, Rashid A, Al‐Mahameed AE, Othman MA
Experimental Study Oxidative Stress Pomegranate Peel
The study divided rats into four groups: control, lithium, lithium-pomegranate, and pomegranate. For eight weeks, the rats were treated according to their respective group assignments. Following this period, they were sacrificed, and an array of assessments were conducted on the extracted thyroid glands. These evaluations included estimated levels of thyroid hormones and markers indicating oxidative stress, along with histological, immunohistochemical, and ultrastructural evaluations of the thyroid tissues.
Observations in the group treated with lithium carbonate showed significant changes in thyroid hormone levels along with an increased expression of the oxidant marker and decreased expression of the antioxidant marker. Additionally, histological evaluation highlighted disorganization and follicle involution, a decline in both staining intensity and immunoreactivity of an antioxidant enzyme, an increase in collagen fiber content and Bax immunoreactivity, and marked distortions in follicular ultrastructure. However, in the group treated with both lithium carbonate and pomegranate, most of these changes were substantially mitigated, thereby indicating the potential protective role of pomegranate against lithium-induced alterations.
Findings indicated reductions in patient symptoms and improvements in biomarkers where acupuncture was used alone or in combination therapy against thyroid-relevant illnesses.
2018 Journal of Integrative Medicine An overview of the contribution of acupuncture to thyroid disorders Cheng FK
Systematic Review
Analysing 29 clinical projects that were retrieved from 29 major digital databases and include 1757 patients aged 7–79 years from China, Italy, Korea, Macedonia and Russia, this narrative review offers an overview of the efficacy, and evaluated the safe and cost-effective use of acupuncture against hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism and thyroid-relevant illnesses. Findings indicated reductions in patient symptoms and improvements in biomarkers where acupuncture was used alone or in combination therapy. In addition to showing the role of acupuncture as an alternative and complementary medicine or as an adjunctive therapy for curative and rehabilitative purposes, more well-designed researches are needed to achieve reliable data.
Chinese medicine warming and invigorating drugs combined with levothyroxine may improve treatment of hypothyroidism caused by Hashimoto disease more than levothyroxine alone.
2016 Annals of Translational Medicine A systematic review of combinatorial treatment with warming and invigorating drugs and levothyroxine for hypothyroidism caused by Hashimoto disease Xiangwen Cheng, Zixiao Wei, Guangde Zhang, Xin Shao, Bo Li, Rui Gao
Systematic Review Hashimoto Disease Hypothyroidism
This systematic review pooled several indices of hypothyroidism caused by HT according to “China’s Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Thyroid Disease” and correlation studies. The results showed that the combination of warming and invigorating drugs and levothyroxine increased FT3 and FT4 levels, and reduced TSH, TPOAb, and TGAb levels in patients with hypothyroidism cause by HT more than levothyroxine alone after treatments of 8 weeks or longer. With the exception of FT4, the results were stable.
In conclusion, we cautiously recommend prescribing warming and invigorating drugs along with levothyroxine for the treatment of hypothyroidism caused by Hashimoto disease. However, high-quality evidence is needed to confirm these results. To guarantee evidence quality, a strict study design, which includes a large sample, an unbiased randomization method, full concealment, proper blinding, and appropriate statistical analyses, is vital. In addition, clinical curative effects of TCM, such as TCM syndromes, should be standardized and unified to reduce clinical heterogeneity and methodology heterogeneity. Finally, a strict registration system for clinical trials is required to remove reporting biases.