Rheumatoid Arthritis
Dr. Weyrich's Naturopathic Functional Medicine Notebook
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Overview
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease that attacks synovial joints in the body.Treatment
Corticosteroids to suppress inflammation are commonly prescribed. However, most patients with rheumatoid arthritis are hypothyroid and there is considerable medical experience that treatment of hypothyroidism benefits RA. In addition, thyroid supplementation is known to mitigate the side effects of corticosteroid treatment [Barnes; Barnes1976a; Hertoghe1914; Hertoghe1915; Starr2005, pg 186].Hypotheses
RA (and other autoimmune diseases such as polymyositis and amyloidosis) is associated with hypothyroidism and deposition of mucin in connective tissue [Starr2005, pg 153].ICD-9 Codes
| ICD9-Code | Description | Comments |
|---|---|---|
References
Unless specifically noted above, references used in the construction of this web page include the following:[FDM] Lecture notes from Functional Medicine University.
[SCNM] Lecture notes from Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine.
[UT] Lecture notes from the University of Tennessee graduate programs in Chemistry and Biochemistry.
[Barnes] Broda O. Barnes M.D. Research Foundation at http://www.brodaobarnes.org. Of particular note are the audio tapes Thyroid Therapy I, II, III available from this source. Cited by [Starr2005].
[Barnes1976a] B. Barnes & L. Galton. Hypothyroidism: The Unsuspected Illness. New York: Harper and Row (1976). Cited by [Starr2005].
[Hertoghe1914] E. Hertoghe. Thyroid Deficiency. Lecture presented to the International Surgical Congress at the New York Polyclinic School and Hospital (April 1914). Copy availaible from Broda O. Barnes M.D. Research Foundation at http://www.brodaobarnes.org [Cited by Starr2005].
[Hertoghe1915] E. Hertoghe. The Practitioner Vol XCIV, No. 1 (January), 26-69 (1915). [Cited by Starr2005].
[Starr2005] Mark Starr. Hypothyroidism Type 2: The Epidemic. Columbia, MO: Mark Starr Trust (2005).
[Swaim1929] Swaim LT. Chronic Arthritis. JAMA. 93:259 (1929). [Cited by Starr2005].
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