Pediatrics, 1998. Copyright 2023 Leaf Group Ltd. / Leaf Group Media, All Rights Reserved. The advantages of medication are that the drugs are readily available and relatively inexpensive. These include surgical removal of the thyroid gland (thyroidectomy) or treatment with radioactive iodine. This is due to increased stimulation in the nervous system which is a common occurrence in cats with feline hyperthyroidism. Cats treated with radioactive iodine for their hyperthyroidism have several risks unrelated to the radioiodine therapy itself. No individual breed is known to have a greater risk, although Siamese, Burmese, Persian, Abyssinian, Tonkinese, and British shorthair breeds appear to have a somewhat decreased incidence of hyperthyroidism compared to other breeds. This information is not a substitute for a vets opinion. Radioactive iodine therapy is the treatment of choice, however, because it destroys abnormal thyroid tissue without damaging the surrounding tissue, providing a more permanent form of treatment. A prescription diet is available that lowers thyroid hormone, but for it to work your cat can't ever eat any other food. The outcomes following most hyperthyroid therapies are usually excellent, and most cats have a very good chance of returning to a normal state of health. Some cats may experience side effects from medication, however, including vomiting, anorexia, fever, anemia, and lethargy. In a cat treated with radioactive iodine, the drool will contain radioactive materials. This treatment involves administering an injection of iodine with a radioactive substance attached. This disease is common in older cats. However, an overactive thyroid is quite common. As the thyroid levels return to normal, some cats may be able to adjust to their new diets quickly after treatment. Radioactive iodine targets the thyroid tissue - as this is the only tissue in the body that uses significant quantities of iodine. If radioactive iodine therapy won't work for you and your cat, alternatives are available. Studies show that weight gain is inevitable after radioiodine-induced hypothyroidism. The treatment lowers or eliminates hormone production and may decrease the size of the goiter. As for your dose, my primary concernespecially if you were allowing the cat to have direct, prolonged contact within the first week of releasewould be the potentially contaminated materials that could result in your intake of radioactive 131I. Hence additional separation between the patient and children are unnecessary. What happens after my cat is released from the hospital? Unfortunately, 131I has a rather high-energy gamma emission that is difficult to shield. Certain studies suggest that in some hyperthyroid cats, limiting the amount of iodine in the diet may be a viable option for treating this disease. Category: Nuclear Medicine Patient Issues Questions Concerning Domestic Animals. The majority of cancers occur later in life and the average lifetime risk of dying from cancer is 25%. If possible, I would like to wear protective clothing so we can return to our familiar habit of living/sleeping in 24-hour close physical contact to minimize his stress and promote his recovery. This problem resolved rapidly after treatment. The cell dies (only occurs with very high doses). Hyperthyroid cats are also at risk for complications related to the hypertension that frequently accompanies hyperthyroidism. Dr. Deborah Linder, a board-certified veterinary nutritionist, is the head of the Tufts Obesity Clinic for Animals and has had articles appear in Eating Well, the Boston Globe, AARP, SHAPE, and XM Sirius Radio Doctor Channel. In most cases, enlargement of thyroid glands is caused by a non-cancerous tumor called an adenoma. Regardless of the medication, blood tests should be conducted periodically during treatment to evaluate whether the therapy is effective and to monitor kidney function and for potential side effects. With this therapy, you take radioactive iodine (radioiodine) by mouth. Weight gain was similar for patients who received antithyroid drugs or radioiodine treatment but was significantly greater for patients who had been treated with thyroidectomy (5 kg vs 10 kg; P = 0.007). Although the cause of feline hyperthyroidism is not known, possible contributing factors include deficiencies or excesses of certain compounds in the diet and chronic exposure to thyroid-disrupting chemicals in food or the environment. Because of the short distances they travel they never exit the patient and as a result no one other than the patient is at risk from exposure to the beta particles unless they internalized the radioiodine excreted by the patient. Aim: Analysis and follow up of body weight after radioiodine therapy (RITh) of hyperthyroidism, since excessive weight gain is a common complaint among these patients. About 25% of cats with hyperthyroidism become hypertensive. radioactive iodine All three treatments will reduce thyroid hormone levels and the signs of hyperthyroidism. These tests are needed to evaluate your cats overall health and predict the likelihood of complications with the chosen treatment protocol. Having said that, the clients who own the cats we treat with radioiodine should make every effort to avoid ingesting any contents from the litter box. The iodine is taken into the thyroid gland and incorporated into thyroxine. The slow onset of signs means that cat owners will often miss these changes until the late stages of disease. The routine stay in our radioactive iodine unit is currently 12 days. The clinical significance of weight gain from the time of diagnosis of hyperthyroidism to 2 years after radioactive iodine therapy is unclear. So in this case the targeted radiation exposure is actually increasing survival for these patients. Cats havetwo thyroid glands in the neck that are vital in regulating the body's metabolic rate. The radioactive iodine is useful in treating the condition that your veterinarian has diagnosed in your cat. Survival Times for Cats with Hyperthyroidism Treated with Iodine 131, Methimazole, or Both, http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/cfr/part020/, Determination of Release Criteria for I-131 Therapy Cats, Risk of Ionizing Radiation Exposure to Children: A Subject Review, Hormesis: From Marginalization to Mainstream: A Case for Hormesis as the Default Dose-Response Model in Risk Assessment. Rarely, people can feel pain in their neck. Ten patients (6.4%) had DS (Down Syndrome) and 33 (21.0%) had received ATDs before RAI ablation. That was part of the problem we had before treatment. Scaly skin. Subscribe to always know when we add new material! Radioactive iodine (RAI) is a treatment method for hyperthyroidism and thyroid cancer. 4. Cats exclusively fed the prescription diet will remain normal, but if the diet is discontinued, they will once again become hyperthyroid. Because the thyroid needs iodine to produce hormones, the thyroid takes the radioiodine into the thyroid cells and the radiation destroys the overactive thyroid cells over time. After initial stabilisation with oral medications, a number of curative treatments are also available. Your veterinarian's instructions regarding separation for the two weeks are simply doing the same thing we do with people. In some of these cats, blood pressure can become so high that retinal bleeding or retinal detachment will occur, resulting in sudden blindness. This usually leads to permanent destruction of the thyroid, which will cure hyperthyroidism. Subscribe to always know when we add new material! And not only do we love the pets, we also love their people, and you are our reason for making this site. Further, the litter will be radioactive as most of the radioactive iodine will be excreted via this route. When choosing the best therapy for an individual cat, many factors must be considered. In many cats, only one thyroid lobe is abnormal, so only one surgery is needed. By 14 days after treatment, the radioactivity will have decayed to a very low level. The most common clinical signs of hyperthyroidism are weight loss, increased appetite, and increased thirst and urination. The cell repairs itself with mistakes (rare). These include an iodine-restricted diet, medications, and radioactive iodine therapy. In some cases, complications involving other organs may worsen this prognosis. Medication In addition to reporting for a major newspaper chain, she has been published in "Horse News," "Suburban Classic," "Hoof Beats," "Equine Journal" and other publications. Excessive weight gain. You may also be advised to suck on sour candy after treatment to help the radioactive iodine come out in your saliva. . It is acceptable to feed your feline products containing at least 30% protein and less than 15% carbohydrates. Nearly all cats will be cured by a second treatment. 2 The goal of RAI treatment is to restore euthyroidism while avoiding the development of hypothyroidism. Too cold? Why isn't there a study directly linking medical imaging and cancer? She's lost a pound in less than two weeks, so yeah, I'm glad I let her eat as much as she wanted. The three ways that we control exposures to external sources of radiation are time, distance, and shielding. You may gain weight after you undergo radioactive iodine treatment. Of 247 patients receiving RAI for GD, 157 (79.6% female) had complete data and were included in the analysis. Def scared about this possibility with Fluff, Our cat was treated for hyperthyroidism and has been back home for about two weeks. As in the case of heart disease, after the hyperthyroidism has been successfully treated, high blood pressure will often resolve, and permanent treatment for it may not be required. Miles K.G., Simpson S.A., Zimmerman R.B., et al. Chance of significant, unhealthy weight gain is increased. Log in 24/7 to access your pets health care information. Affected cats produce too much thyroid hormone. However, the risk is minimal if your cat is otherwise healthy, and the initial diagnostic tests and treatment did not reveal any underlying conditions. Hypocalcemia can be life-threatening and may require either short-term or long-term medication postoperatively should it occur. Cats afflicted with hyperthyroidism usually develop a variety of signs that may be subtle at first but that become more severe as the disease progresses. Design and methods: Five hundred and four patients over 40 years of age with diffuse toxic goiter were treated with MMI for 18 months. The goal of hyperthyroidism treatment is to lower the levels of thyroid hormones in the body. Hence for a transient period following radioiodine therapy, the patient's urine contains excreted radioiodine which will emit beta particles as it continues to decay. Only the bare necessitiesfood and water and quick litter cleanupsare provided by veterinary technicians during your cat's hospital stay. A Multicompartmental Model for Iodide, Thyroxine, and Triiodothyronine Metabolism in Normal and Spontaneously Hyperthyroid Cats. 1 Radioactive iodine (RAI)] is generally considered the optimal treatment for hyperthyroidism in cats. Thank you! Clients owning hyperthyroid cats undergoing radioiodine therapy are always considered members of the general public. The estimates of risk currently used are extrapolated from patients that have received much higher doses (e.g., atomic bomb survivors) using the linear, no-threshold model of radiation exposure risk. Copyright 2019 Advanced Veterinary Medical Imaging. Mean baseline age was 12.7 3.0 years and mean baseline BMI SDS was 0.003 1.18 kg/m 2. One major risk associated with surgical thyroidectomy is inadvertent damage to the parathyroid glands, which lie close to or within the thyroid gland and are crucial in maintaining stable blood calcium levels. Research into this potential treatment option is ongoing.