In the course of a cancer-related study, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center stumbled upon an important genetic mechanism that may help in the treatment of two rare thyroid diseases. Steven Sherman, assistant professor of endocrine neoplasia, and Madeleine Duvic, professor of dermatology, both in M. D. Anderson's department of internal medical specialties, successfully demonstrated that targretin, an RXR retinoid compound, causes hypothyroidism. This discovery also revealed a genetic mechanism in the pituitary gland not previously known. The findings were published in the April 8th issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Targretin acts by inhibiting the pituitary's synthesis of the thyroid-stimulating hormone necessary for normal thyroid hormone production, explains Dr. Sherman.
Hypothyroidism is a serious condition that is easily treated and resolved.
This was a case of going where your data leads you and coming up with an unexpected finding. It opens up a whole new area of investigation. Dr. Sherman says the discovery may immediately impact treatment and outcomes for two rare thyroid diseases for which current treatment is often unsuccessful. Both diseases cause unusual forms of hyperthyroidism due to pituitary stimulation of the thyroid gland. The patients, who prior to ingesting targretin showed no signs of the condition, began to experience fatigue, memory loss, depression and a heightened sensitivity to cold, symptoms commonly associated with hypothyroidism.