The Study
Non-selective and selective beta-1-adrenoceptor blocking agents in the treatment of hyperthyroidism.
This study just watched what happened when 20 people took two different pills for a month. It didn't randomly assign who got which pill or hide which pill they were taking, so we can't say the pills caused the changes — we only saw what happened.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
Doctors gave two different beta-blocker drugs to people with overactive thyroids and saw their symptoms get better, even though the main thyroid hormone didn't change.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 532 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — even without lowering thyroid hormones much, these drugs helped reduce fast heartbeat, weight loss, and tremors, meaning they work directly on symptoms.
- 2Symptoms improved equally with both drugs.
- 3Metabolism dropped 11%.
- 4T3 went down a little with propranolol (4.6 → 3.9 nmol/L), but not with atenolol.
- 5Thyroxine stayed the same.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Acta medica Scandinavica
Year
2009
Authors
O. Nilsson, B. Karlberg, B. Kågedal, L. Tegler, S. Almqvist
Related Content
Claims (4)
Hyperthyroidism causes a higher resting metabolic rate, which results in a faster heart rate, shaking, weight loss without trying, greater hunger, and diarrhea.
In patients with hyperthyroidism, propranolol lowers serum triiodothyronine (T3) levels from 4.6 to 3.9 nmol/L after one month of treatment, whereas atenolol does not lower T3 levels under the same conditions.
In patients with overactive thyroid, taking propranolol or atenolol lowered resting metabolic rate by 11%, while patients not taking these drugs showed no change in resting metabolic rate.
In people with an overactive thyroid, taking propranolol or atenolol for one month improves symptoms to the same degree, even though the level of thyroid hormone in the blood does not change significantly.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.