Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40598574›Full record

ArticleTrials2025

Treatment of hypothyroidism with levothyroxine plus slow-release liothyronine: a study protocol for a randomized controlled double-blinded clinical trial.

F Azizi, A Amouzegar, H Abdi, M Tohidi, S Masoumi, D Khalili, Y Mehrabi, A Zadehvakili, M Hedayati, A A Momenan and 1 more

Abstract readClinical Trial Protocol
In one paragraph

Article in Trials, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

F AziziEndocrine Research Center, Research Institute for Endocrine Disorders, Research Institute for Endocrine Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
A AmouzegarEndocrine Research Center, Research Institute for Endocrine Disorders, Research Institute for Endocrine Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
H AbdiEndocrine Research Center, Research Institute for Endocrine Disorders, Research Institute for Endocrine Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
M TohidiPrevention of Metabolic Disorders Research Center, Research Institute for Endocrine Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
S MasoumiEndocrine Research Center, Research Institute for Endocrine Disorders, Research Institute for Endocrine Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
D KhaliliPrevention of Metabolic Disorders Research Center, Research Institute for Endocrine Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Y MehrabiDepartment of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, 19835-35511, Iran.
A ZadehvakiliEndocrine Research Center, Research Institute for Endocrine Disorders, Research Institute for Endocrine Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
M HedayatiMolecular Research Center, Research Institute for Endocrine Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
A A MomenanPrevention of Metabolic Disorders Research Center, Research Institute for Endocrine Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
L MehranEndocrine Research Center, Research Institute for Endocrine Disorders, Research Institute for Endocrine Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. lmehran@endocrine.ac.ir.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThere are emerging controversies regarding the priority of T4 + T3 combination therapy over standard care with levothyroxine (LT4) monotherapy in the management of hypothyroid subjects. Combination therapy with a slow-release form of liothyronine (SRT3) and levothyroxine may restore T3 concentrations and provide better outcomes, especially in individuals with persistent complaints despite having normal serum TSH levels.

methodsOne hundred patients aged ≥ 20 years with hypothyroidism who have achieved and maintained euthyroidism under LT4 monotherapy for at least 3 months will be randomized into two groups of LT4 + SRT3 combined therapy (75 µg LT4 + 25 µg SRT3) and LT4 monotherapy for 48 weeks. Participants will be evaluated at baseline and three subsequent follow-ups, 12, 24, and 48 weeks after treatment allocation. Before and after the intervention, body weight, heart rate, blood pressure, ECG, quality of life (by ThyPRO-39 and SF-12), resting energy expenditure, and body composition will be evaluated. Also, serum TSH, total T3, total T4, free T4, free T3, total cholesterol, LDL, HDL, triglycerides, fasting blood sugar (FBS), insulin, HbA1C, Homeostatic Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR), sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), enolase, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), creatin kinase (CK), ferritin, and metabolomics will be assessed at baseline and compared with their corresponding values at 24 and 48 weeks. Epigenetic-related markers will be measured and compared between the responders and non-responders.

conclusionIt is expected that LT4 + SRT3 combined therapy more closely mimics the serum levels of T3, T4, and the T3/T4 ratio of euthyroid subjects than LT4 monotherapy, and improves health outcomes and quality of life, especially in hypothyroid patients with persistent symptoms under LT4 monotherapy. Genetic polymorphism sequencing may identify hypothyroid patients who are not responding well to levothyroxine alone.

trial registrationTrial ID: 44220 ID: IRCT20100922004794N12 IRCT ID: IRCT20100922004794N12 Registration date: 2020-02-27 Expected recruitment start date: 2024-10-06 Expected recruitment end date: 2025-10-23.

Indexed as

Hormone Replacement TherapyHypothyroidismThyroxineTriiodothyronineAdultBiomarkersDelayed-Action PreparationsDouble-Blind MethodDrug Therapy, CombinationFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedQuality of LifeRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicTime FactorsBiomarkersDelayed-Action PreparationsThyroxineTriiodothyronineClinical trialCombination therapyHypothyroidismLevothyroxinePatient-reported outcomesPatient satisfactionSlow-release liothyronine

Identifiers

PMID40598574
PMCPMC12211365

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.