The Effect of Dextrothyroxine On the Disappearance From the Blood of C14 -Labeled Cholesterol a Preliminary Report

Abstract

During a 25-day period when 8 mg dextrothyroxine was given daily to patients, the serum was cleared of C14 -labeled cholesterol 2 to 3 times as fast, and radioactive CO2 was detected in the expired air in greatly increased quantities, while the total serum cholesterol was reduced from a maximum lowering of 66% to a minimum lowering of 34% when compared to baseline studies performed in the same patients before the administration of dextrothyroxine. The data suggest that dextrothyroxine markedly accelerates the breakdown of body cholesterol.