CHICAGO-Covert or undertreated hypothyroidism may lead lipid-lowering drugs to fail and even cause myopathy.
But restoration of normal T4 and TSH levels allows sucessful use of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors and gemfibrozil without muscle impairment, says a Cincinnati Jewish Hospital team.
Four patients with undiagnosed hypothyroidism and one with undertreated thyroid disease developed severe myopathy with no drop in lipids, Dr. Charles Glueck told the Central Society for Clinical Research meeting here.
Euthyroidism with levothyroxine reduced but didn’t fully resolve hyperlipidemia. But lipids normalized without new myopathy when treatment with HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors or gemfibrozil was restarted. Dr. Glueck would screen for TSH among hyperlipidemics because T4s may be normal if patients are hypothyroid.
