Statins can produce false signs of thyroid problems

Cholesterol-lowering statins, used by millions of Americans to treat and prevent atherosclerosis, may falsely indicate thyroid problems,  according to researchers at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas.  Their study, Radioiodine studies, low serum TSH, and the influence of  statin drugs, appears in the journal Thyroid.

"These findings could help physicians make quicker, more accurate  diagnoses of suspected thyroid problems," said William Harvey, a nuclear  medicine physician and author of the study. "It also has very  provocative scientific implications as we learn more about how statins  affect different systems in the body," he added.

The researchers re-examined 307 patients whose initial TSH blood tests,  the most common measure of thyroid function, showed overactive thyroids.  Symptoms of the condition, called hyperthyroidism, can include a fast  heart rate and palpitations, tremors, anxiety, weak muscles and  difficulty sleeping.