Want to see our favorite hGH supplement? Click here!

Researchers at the University of Messina now report that supplementation with L-carnitine, a quaternary amine which occurs naturally in the body, can reduce the side effects of thyroxine treatment and reduce the need for constant monitoring.

Goiter (enlarged thyroid gland) affects over 200 million people globally. It is almost always the result of an iodine deficiency. It can often be corrected by increasing iodine intake.

The study team conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial, which involved 50 women who were being treated for benign nodular goiter with levothyroxine. The women were allocated to a placebo group ( group A) that received 2 or 4 grams of carnitine daily for two months out of the six-month trial period or group B, which received 2 or 4 grams carnitine daily for four months.

The researchers measured a number of blood parameters and symptoms in the placebo and treatment groups. They concluded that L-carnitine supplementation significantly reduces thyroxine therapy induced weakness, breathlessness, palpitations, nervousness, insomnia, tremors, and elevated heart rate.

The team also discovered that sometimes it is necessary to dampen the activity of the thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) in order to reduce the size of the goiter. Thyroid hormone (levothyroxine) is commonly prescribed for this purpose. Levothyroxine, unfortunately, has many adverse effects, which requires constant monitoring to ensure that blood levels are adequate.

The results can be found in the article : Usefulness of L-carnitine, a naturally occurring peripheral antagonist of thyroid hormone action, in iatrogenic hyperthyroidism: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial by Benvenga, Salvatore, et al published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (Vol. 86, August 2001, pp. 3579-94).