Adjuvant lithium improves radioiodine efficacy

Radioactive iodine (RAI) is an established treatment for hyperthyroid conditions such as Graves' disease or toxic nodular goitre. Various adjuvant therapies to improve the efficacy of RAI have been investigated; lithium has emerged as a favourite, as it increases thyroid iodine retention and can attenuate the surge in thyroid hormone release observed in patients commencing RAI treatment. However, adjuvant lithium has remained controversial as several studies have reported mixed results on RAI efficacy and some side-effects of lithium administration. Martin and colleagues investigated the effect of adjuvant lithium in hyperthyroid patients receiving a standard 500 MBq RAI dose, finding that the likelihood of cure was 60% greater in all hyperthyroid patients compared with RAI alone. Their work describes a novel finding, in that adjuvant lithium improves the efficacy of RAI in toxic nodular thyroid patients and further supports the use of adjuvant lithium in the treatment of Graves' disease. Martin et al. (2012) Clinical Endocrinology 77 621–627.

Read the full article at: DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2265.2012.04385.x