Treatment of euthyroid goiter in the elderly

PURPOSE: A study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the medical therapy with synthetic hormone levothyroxine (L-T4) in the elderly subjects with multinodular euthyroid goiter. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 187 elderly subjects (34 males and 153 females) ranging between 63 and 85 years of age with multinodular euthyroide goiter were examined. For each subject has been calculated the index of body mass (BMI) which has consented the identify two groups of subjects: the elderly patients with normal weight and the obese subjects. RESULTS: In the mostly of the patients (82%), both normal weight and obese, the L-T4 therapy has not determined significant changes either of the dimensions or the number of the nodules. In the obese subjects the L-T4 therapy has not caused decrease of weight at least to the 20% of the initial body weight. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the research have proved the limited effectiveness of the suppressive therapy with levothyroxine in the reduction of the volume and/or of the number of the nodules, without however denying the usefulness in the preventing the worsening of the nodular disease of thyroid. The study also has revealed that the therapy with levothyroxine is ineffective for the body weight reduction in the obese subjects.