A new combination treatment for iodine deficiency
25 January 2020
Iodine deficiency has now been a global health problem for many decades. Public health authorities have implemented strategies including iodisation programmes to tackle this deficiency. Although some of these programmes have proved successful, iodine deficiency still remains a major global health issue. The thyroid gland produces two crucial hormones (T3 and T4) which regulate many metabolic processes of the body. A deficiency in iodine leads to the reduction in the production of these hormones, thus disturbing many of the metabolic processes. Recent clinical studies have shown the use of myo-inositol in combination with iodine in thyroid diseases to be beneficial to treatment. Myo-inositol regulates the generation of hydrogen peroxide in thyrocytes and therefore optimizes iodine organification and thyroid hormone biosynthesis. Studies suggest that the use of myo-inositol could reduce the time to respond to optimising iodine intake. However, this is in the early stages of research and more studies are required to assess the clinical impact.
Text written by Guest (January 2020)