Metabolic Activity of the D-Isomers of Thyroxine and Tri-Iodothyronine

Abstract

RECENT experimental observations in animals have indicated that certain modifications of the chemical structure of the natural thyroid hormones, L-thyroxine and L-tri-iodothyronine, result in compounds that retain much of the cholesterol-lowering activity of the natural hormones but exert significantly less calorigenic activity.^{1 2 3} Interest in these thyroxine-like compounds stems from the possibility that one or more of them will offer a safe and effective means of effecting a sustained reduction of serum cholesterol in persons with manifestations of coronary-artery atherosclerosis or who fall in the "high-risk" group as far as this disease is concerned. A number of reports of such clinical . . .