The present study evaluated the ameliorative effect of vitamin C on alteration in thyroid hormones induced by low-dose subchronic coadministration of chlorpyrifos (CPF) and lead (Pb). Forty Wistar rats were divided into 4 groups of 10 animals each. Groups I and II were administered soya oil (2 mL/kg) and vitamin C (100 mg/kg), respectively. Group III was coadministered CPF (4.25 mg/kg ~1/20th LD(50)) and Pb (250 mg/kg ~1/20th LD(50)), respectively. Group IV was pretreated with vitamin C (100 mg/kg) and then coadministered with CPF (4.25 mg/kg) and Pb (250 mg/kg), 30 min later. The regimens were administered by gavage for a period of 9 weeks. The marginal decrease in serum triiodothyronine and thyroxine and the significant increase in the concentrations of thyroid stimulating hormone and malonaldehyde in the group coadministered with CPF and Pb were ameliorated by vitamin C partly due to its antioxidant properties.

Background This randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial identifies the effect of an aromatherapy blend of essential oils on fatigue, which is one of the most commonly unaddressed symptoms of hypothyroidism, by evaluating the effects of daily aromatherapy inhalation. Methods Participants included women aged 18-55 with a diagnosis of hypothyroidism. Women who had a history of thyroid cancer were excluded, due to the confounding effects of cancer on fatigue as the outcome of interest. Participants were randomized into two groups: the aromatherapy group, treated with inhalation of the essential oil blend, and the control group, treated with an odorless vegetable oil blend. The primary outcome was change from baseline in fatigue scores as measured by the Multidimensional Fatigue Symptom Inventory (MFSI), a validated instrument which measures multiple patterns of fatigue. Results After adjusting for baseline scores, no significant difference was found between the aromatherapy group and the control group at midpoint. Both groups experienced a reduction in symptoms during the first week of the intervention. At the endpoint, participants in the aromatherapy group had improved fatigue scores across all ten subscales, as compared to the control group. Not all improvements achieved statistical significance, indicating that the aromatherapy treatment has a greater effect on the subscales of global, affective, and general fatigue. Conclusions This is the first study to evaluate the effects of aromatherapy on fatigue among women with hypothyroidism. These findings provide evidence that regular inhalation of an aromatherapy blend may reduce fatigue among women with hypothyroidism, particularly in the areas of global, affective, and general fatigue.

BACKGROUND:A significant number of women in India are suffering from hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism is characterized by elevated lipid profiles and thyroid stimulation hormone (TSH). It leads many comorbid conditions such as coronary artery disease, obesity, depression, osteoporosis, sleep apnea, and etc. Yoga is proven to be effective in reducing weight, dyslipidemia, depression and it brings the balance in autonomous nervous system. We aimed to study the effect of 6 months yoga practice on lipid profile, thyroxine requirement and serum TSH in women suffering from hypothyroidism.

METHODS:Twenty-two household women suffering from hypothyroidism between the age range of 30 and 40 (mean±SD; 36.7±3.2) years, with average 4±1.12-year history of hypothyroidism were included in this study. Subjects with known cardiac issues, hypertension, history, recent surgery, slip disc and low back pain were excluded from this study. None of the subjects were on any other medication except thyroxine which was kept during the intervention phage (mean 65.78±22.74 mcg). All the subjects underwent 6 months of yoga practice 1 h daily for 4 days a week. Lipid profile, thyroxine dosage and serum TSH level were assessed before and after intervention. Data was analyzed using paired sample t test&Wilcoxon's signed rank test.

RESULTS:The paired sample t-test showed significant reduction in total cholesterol (p=0.006; -8.99 %), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) (p=0.002; -9.81 %) and triglycerides (p=0.013; -7.6 %), and there was a significant improvement in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) (p=0.02; +9.65 %) along with nonsignificant reduction in TSH level (p=0.452; -9.72 %). Wilcoxon signed-rank test showed significant reduction in thyroxine medication score (p=0.029; -15.30 %) from.

CONCLUSION:6 months practice of yoga may help in improving cholesterol level, serum TSH, may also help in reducing the thyroxine requirement in female patients suffering from hypothyroidism. However, further randomized controlled studies need to be conducted to confirm the present finding.

Hitherto unknown efficacy of the peel extracts of Mangifera indica (MI), Cucumis melo (CM) and Citrullus vulgaris (CV) fruits in ameliorating the diet-induced alterations in dyslipidemia, thyroid dysfunction and diabetes mellitus have been investigated in rats. In one study, out of 4 different doses (50-300 mg/kg), 200 mg/kg of MI and 100 mg/kg for other two peel extracts could inhibit lipidperoxidation (LPO) maximally in liver. In the second experiment rats were maintained on pre-standardized atherogenic diet CCT (supplemented with 4% cholesterol, 1% cholic acid and 0.5% 2-thiouracil) to induce dyslipidemia, hypothyroidism and diabetes mellitus and the effects of the test peel extracts (200 mg/kg of MI and 100 mg/kg for CM and CV for 10 consecutive days) were studied by examining the changes in tissue LPO (in heart, liver and kidney), concentrations of serum lipids, thyroid hormones, insulin and glucose. Rats, treated simultaneously with either of the peel extracts reversed the CCT-diet induced increase in the levels of tissue LPO, serum lipids, glucose, creatinine kinase-MB and decrease in the levels of thyroid hormones and insulin indicating their potential to ameliorate the diet induced alterations in serum lipids, thyroid dysfunctions and hyperglycemia/diabetes mellitus. A phytochemical analysis indicated the presence of a high amount of polyphenols and ascorbic acid in the test peel extracts suggesting that the beneficial effects could be the result of the rich content of polyphenols and ascorbic acid in the studied peels.

OBJECTIVE:To study the effect of yoga on the quality of life of female hypothyroid patients.

DESIGN:The WHO Quality of Life Scale(22) was used to assess the quality of life of 20 female hypothyroid patients. Subjects attended one hour yoga sessions daily for a period of one month. A pretest-post-test research design was used for data analysis.

RESULTS:Patients' quality of life scores following the yoga program were greater than scores obtained prior to undertaking yoga (p < 0.01). Patients also reported significant improvement in their perception of the overall quality of life and of their health post yoga intervention.

CONCLUSIONS:It can be concluded that yoga is valuable in helping the hypothyroid patients to manage their disease-related symptoms. Yoga may be considered as supportive or complementary therapy in conjunction with medical therapy for the treatment of hypothyroid disorder.

Hypothyroidism causes an imbalance in antioxidant and pro-oxidants criteria in the brain and enhances the concentration of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and neuronal damage has been observed following an excessive ROS. The main purpose of this study was to examine the preventive effect of vitamin C on hypothyroidism associated neuronal damage in the hippocampus of neonatal and juvenile rats. Pregnant rats after delivery of their pups were randomly divided into four groups and treated with (1) normal drinking water as a control group, (2) Propylthiouracil (PTU) 0.005% added to drinking water, (3-4) PTU+VitC 10mg/kg and PTU+VitC 100mg/kg to drinking water. Treatment was carried out during rat's lactation period until to the postnatal day (PND) 60. To assess the histological and stereological changes that occur in this study, brains of 5 male pups were extracted. The number of dark neurons and apoptotic cells in the hippocampal sub-regions of PTU group was significantly greater than the control group's hippocampal sub-regions. In addition, hypothyroidism induced a reduction in the hippocampal volume and increased the numerical density and the total amount of dark neurons. The vitamin C only dose of 100mg/kg significantly reduced the number of dark neurons and apoptotic cells (P<0.01) and considerably weakened the influence of hypothyroidism on the volume reduction of the hippocampus (P<0.05). The current study suggested that vitamin C administration has a possibility to prevent hippocampal neuronal damage caused by neonatal and juvenile hypothyroidism in rats.