QUANTITATIVE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BASAL METABOLIC RATE AND THYROID DOSAGE IN PATIENTS WITH TRUE MYXEDEMA

Abstract

Myxedematous patients did not develop any tolerance to dried thyroid, even after yrs. of medication. In myxedema, the dose of dried thyroid necessary to restore the BMR to normal regularly lay between 1 and 3 grains daily. It varied somewhat in the same individual from time to time. The relationship between BMR and the dose of dried thyroid tended to be linear, at least while the BMR was subnormal. The quantitative response of the myxedematous subject to dried thyroid was specific and reproducible. The diagnosis of myxedema may properly be questioned if this characteristic response cannot be demonstrated.