Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Iodine-restricted diet lowers thyroid hormone in hyperthyroid cats
By Hui, T Y et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2015·Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Effect of Feeding an Iodine-Restricted Diet in Cats with Spontaneous Hyperthyroidism.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of 49 cats with hyperthyroidism (a condition where the thyroid gland is overactive) were fed a special iodine-restricted diet to help manage their symptoms. After 21 to 60 days, about 42% of the cats had normal thyroid hormone levels, and this increased to 83% after 61 to 180 days. While the diet helped regulate thyroid levels, it did not significantly improve other symptoms like weight gain or heart rate reduction. However, there was a notable decrease in kidney function markers, suggesting some overall health improvement.
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Abstract
BACKGROUND: Exclusive feeding of an iodine-restricted diet has been proposed as a method for controlling clinical manifestations of hyperthyroidism in hyperthyroid cats. OBJECTIVES: To determine the effect of feeding an iodine-restricted diet on TT4 concentrations and clinical signs in cats with spontaneous hyperthyroidism. ANIMALS: Forty-nine client-owned cats with spontaneous hyperthyroidism. METHODS: Retrospective case series. Hyperthyroid cats were exclusively fed a commercially available iodine-restricted diet. Clinical response was assessed by change in weight and heart rate and serum TT4, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and creatinine concentrations at various times during dietary management (21-60 days, 60-180 days). RESULTS: Serum TT4 normalized in 20/48 cats (42%) and 39/47 cats (83%) at 21-60 days and 61-180 days, respectively. Cats in which the TT4 concentrations were still above reference range at 21-60 days had a significantly higher starting TT4 than those that normalized their TT4 levels during the same time period (P = .038). Body weight did not significantly increase (P = .34) nor heart rate decrease (P = .64) during the study. There was a significant decrease in serum creatinine (P = .028). Cats in the low reference range for serum TT4 concentrations did not have a significant increase in body weight (P = .41) nor creatinine (P = .54) when compared to those with high reference range. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Restricted-iodine diets were effective at maintaining serum TT4 concentrations within reference ranges for a majority of cats with spontaneous hyperthyroidism over 1 year, although not all clinical signs of hyperthyroidism improved.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26081922/