The injection has no direct side effects. Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is another potential complication of hyperthyroidism, and can cause additional damage to several organs, including the eyes, kidneys, heart, and brain. Thus, individuals who opt for . Because metabolism is altered in hyperthyroidism, its important to monitor your cats weight and muscle mass. Why isn't there a study directly linking medical imaging and cancer? As stated above, it may also be used for a few weeks to stabilize a cat at increased surgical risk because of cardiac complications. Note that the reference above excluding licensee's from considering "exposure to individuals administered radioactive material" in their compliance with the NRC regulartions does not apply to animals. radioactive iodine All three treatments will reduce thyroid hormone levels and the signs of hyperthyroidism. Determination of Release Criteria for I-131 Therapy Cats in Conference Proceedings American College of Veterinary Radiology. Lifelong treatment, usually involving twice-daily oral dosage, will be required, and for some owners and cats, this dosage schedule may be difficult to maintain. . This treatment is appropriate for cats with more surgical risk due to other health problems or who are exceptionally old. Now that he's back home, he still exhibits the behavior of wanting food all the time but I wonder if it's a habit he picked up before treatment or perhaps the symptoms won't completely gone away until the treatment has time to take hold. When it comes to survival, the studies that have been done show that cats cured of their thyroid disease by radioactive iodine live much longer (up to twice as long) when compared to hyperthyroid cats treated by methimazole. Already have a myVCA account? Clients owning hyperthyroid cats undergoing radioiodine therapy are always considered members of the general public. Actually it is quite safe, because the radioactive iodine is absorbed only by thyroid cells; no other cells in the body are exposed to the radiation. The delivery of iodine is targeted to the overactive thyroid gland(s), the cat does not experience any radiation side effects at the normal therapy doses used to treat hyperthyroidism. As youre on this website right now, we can assume that you love pets and likely have a special dog or cat (or many) in your life. Hypertension develops due to the increased pumping pressure and elevated heart rate that occurs with hyperthyroidism. The treatment a cat receives for hyperthyroidism will depend on specific circumstances, including the patients overall health status, the owners ability and willingness to medicate the cat regularly, and financial considerations. It is given one to three times daily and must be continued for the remainder of the pet's life. 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. J Vet Intern Med, 2001. What happens after radioactive iodine treatment for cats? The medication can be given life-long or to stabilize the cat before other treatment. Thyroid hormones affect nearly all of the organs in the body; therefore, thyroid disease often causes secondary problems. Occasionally, a cat suspected of having hyperthyroidism has a TT4 level within the upper range of normal. Cats managed with diet or medication generally do well as long as their feeding is consistent, their medication is administered routinely, and follow-up blood and diagnostic tests are performed as scheduled. If we use the linear no-threshold model we could estimate that the exposure to 1 mSv would therefore have a risk of less than 0.01% (or 1/100th of 1 %) of causing cancer over the remaining life of an adult. Cats may also continue to show signs of hyperthyroidism, including vomiting and diarrhea, for 3-4 weeks after the radioiodine therapy as the disease continues to resolve. No ill effects have been noted in the children born to parents who received radioactive iodine in the past. When a radioactive form of iodine is given to hyperthyroid cats, the radiation destroys a portion of the thyroid gland. Since hyperthyroid cats are usually over eight years of age, there is a degree of risk involved. The average age of cats with hyperthyroidism is approximately 12 years and about 5% of hyperthyroid cats are younger than 10 years of age. This treatment involves administering an injection of iodine with a radioactive substance attached. However, your cat will still have a low amount of radiation in his or her body. He also can't sleep with you during that time, and the facility will inform you about special arrangements you'll have to make for disposing of his litter. An anti-thyroid medication, like methimazole. Although this procedure is usually very effective, it is more expensive and requires the cat being . Reduce the time near a source, increase the distance from the source, or use some sort of radiation absorbing shielding between you and the source of radiation and you will reduce your radiation dose. The treatment options for hyperthyroidism are: Oral medication. Some places realize that the stress of being away from home for so long is not good for older cats. This isnotan iodine-free diet but a diet with a controlled iodine content of 0.2ppma minimal amount. Radioactive iodine therapy is a very effective way to treat hyperthyroidism (I-131). Methimazole is also given before surgery to determine if the cat has a secondary medical condition, such as kidney or liver disease masked by hyperthyroidism. The risk to these cats is the simple fact that many cats in the age range when cats develop hyperthyroidism (8+ years) also develop other diseases. 15(1): p. 47-51. Surgery will be performed if your cat successfully undergoes the initial treatment without complication. How does the risk from medical radiation compare to background radiation exposure? These complications include cerebrovascular events (i.e., strokes) and the premature exacerbation of pre-existing kidney disease. An important take-away message about your newly-diagnosed hyperthyroid cat is that there is a wide range of treatment options, so you can likely find something that works for your family. Your cat may be hospitalized for one to two nights following surgery and should begin to eat and behave normally after returning home. The cell dies (only occurs with very high doses). What Are The Side Effects Of Radioactive Iodine Treatment In Cats? Treatment Risks from other illness. With your cat's diseased thyroid, after methimazole treatment failed, large doses of iodine might have proven effective. Clinical signs include lethargy, dullness, obesity, oily skin, and matted fur. Slater M.R., Geller S. and Rogers K., Long-Term Health and Predictors of Survival for Hyperthyroid Cats Treated with Iodine 131. This may be particularly useful in cats with medical conditions that make other treatment options impossible. This can best be done by monitoring your cats body condition, muscle condition, and weight. A large study found an increase in some cancer types in people who had radioactive iodine treatment for hyperthyroidism compared with the general population. Is radioactive iodine treatment safe? A Multicompartmental Model for Iodide, Thyroxine, and Triiodothyronine Metabolism in Normal and Spontaneously Hyperthyroid Cats. Luckily these risks will diminish in time following successful radioiodine therapy and a return to a persistently normal thyroid level. Also, you might get some good ideas about what to feed him on Dr. Lisa Pierson's web site. What are other nutritional concerns for my hyperthyroid cat? You may also be advised to suck on sour candy after treatment to help the radioactive iodine come out in your saliva. After initial stabilisation with oral medications, a number of curative treatments are also available. Once the correct dose of radioiodine has been determined and administered, most of the time the tumors responsible for causing the elevated thyroid levels resolve and the cats are cured. There are virtually no side effects, and there is no pain associated with 131I treatment. Whats the difference between type 1 and 2 diabetes NHS. To date the studies following hyperthyroid cats treated with radioiodine have not shown any increased incidence of cancer (thyroid or other types) associated with radioiodine therapy. The other conditions that cats can develop at this age are numerous and varied. Currently, there's only one FDA approved medication to treat feline hyperthyroidism called methimazole. The brand name of methimazole is called Felimazole. The dosage may vary but typically a cat is given this oral medication twice a day, every 12 hours. . 122(6): p. 2444-61. I have a cat also and I know when she is happy and purring while sitting on my lap getting strokes, she drools. To help your cat gain weight, you need to increase the protein and . The majority of cats treated with radioactive iodine have normal hormone levels within one to two weeks of treatment. To the best of our knowledge, answers are correct at the time they are posted. I-131 therapy does not require anesthesia and eliminates the need for daily medication. Hyperthyroidism is a common disease in cats, and mostly afflicts cats middle-aged and older. Once your cat's radiation levels have declined below the maximum allowed by federal and state law prior to being released from the hospital (usually 1-5 days), your cat is able to return home. This test can also help the doctor determine the cause of your hyperthyroidism and get other information about your thyroid tissue. Did You Know? However, because your cat will be radioactive for several days after receiving the shot, precautions must be taken during and after the treatment. As for equipment for tracking radioactive contamination, there really is no readily available "home-testing" equipment. Removal of the thyroid glands, called surgical thyroidectomy, is a relatively straightforward surgical procedure that has a good success rate. If this is the case with your cat, paying special attention to specific nutrients such as dietary phosphorus (a key player in chronic kidney disease) may be required. Some cats develop side effects from methimazole, such as vomiting, lethargy, anorexia, fever, liver damage, anemia, and a decrease in white blood cells. Hypothyroidism, is a condition resulting from a deficiency of thyroid hormone. Conveniently, the main use of iodine in the body is the production of thyroid hormone, so a deficient diet shouldnt cause any other health issues in a hyperthyroid cat. Radioiodine treatment avoids surgery, anesthesia, and anti-thyroid drugs. Now that I know my cat has hyperthyroidism, what do I do? A seven hour airplane trip exposes passengers to 0.02 mSv of radiation, which is a fraction of the exposure of a standard Chest x-ray (0.1 mSv). If the disease involves both lobes of the thyroid gland, two surgeries may be required, depending on the surgeon's choice of procedures. Thyroidectomy (largely replaced by radioactive iodine . Ten patients (6.4%) had DS (Down Syndrome) and 33 (21.0%) had received ATDs before RAI ablation. Employees of facilities that utilize radioactive materials may be categorized as "radiation workers" depending on their role. If left untreated and unmanaged, these changes may eventually compromise the normal function of the heart and can even lead to heart failure. These include weight loss, increased activity, and kitten like behaviour. The clinical significance of weight gain from the time of diagnosis of hyperthyroidism to 2 years after radioactive iodine therapy is unclear. Log in 24/7 to access your pets health care information. However, once the underlying hyperthyroidism has been controlled, the cardiac changes will often improve or may even resolve completely. For this long-term treatment, the cat is injected with the radioactive iodine, which destroys the tissue of the overactive thyroid gland. But this generally resolves without intervention. Prior to the onset of symptoms he was eating a high quality dry cat food but when he started losing weight and begging for food we were told we could . The current Nuclear Regulatory Commission radiation dose limits for individual members of the public are listed below. Hyperthyroidism, or an overactive thyroid, is a common disease of older cats. The overwhelming majority of cats (>95%) are cured by a single therapy with only a small percentage of cats requiring additional radioiodine therapy (4%) or becoming persistently hypothyroid (1%). JavaScript is disabled. If left untreated, a hyperthyroid cat can exhibit many, if not all, of the following signs: extreme weight loss, excessive appetite in most cases, but decreased appetite in some, muscle weakness, heart disease (increase in the size of the heart, increased rate, changes in heart rhythm, cardiac arrest), intolerance to stress, and eventually death. Weight seemed to stabilize in the long-term setting, with minimal increases between 8 and 12 months and at 24 months after radioactive iodine treatment. If these tests are not diagnostic, athyroid scan (thyroid scintigraphy)can be performed at a veterinary referral center, or the TT4 can be measured again in a few weeks. First we need to put this exposure level into some context: How do x-rays increase your risk for cancer? Radioactive-iodine therapy is becoming increasingly popular when dealing with hyperthyroidism in cats. However, it may not be appropriate for all cats (depending on other medical conditions) so important to work with your veterinarian and decide if using this therapeutic diet is the best way to manage your cats condition. Thyrotoxic cardiomyopathy may develop because the heart enlarges and thickens to meet the increased metabolic demands. (For example, for human patients we provide instructions such as "sleep in separate beds" and "stay at least 1 meter away from others as much as possible.") A small number of cats will remain hyperthyroid after treatment, if this is the case your cat will need . How long can a cat live after radioactive iodine treatment? At 1 and 3 months after the treatment, a blood test for thyroid and kidney function should be done by your veterinarian. Oftentimes it takes decades for cancer to be detected following radiation exposure. Environmental risk factors have been investigated and may predispose some cats to hyperthyroidism, although the specific mechanisms are unknown. The remainder is gone in about the next two months or so. Once his radiation levels come down and you can bring him home, you still have to keep him away from young children and pregnant women, as he'll pass small amounts of radioactive iodine through his urine for approximately two weeks. It will take about a month for thyroid levels to return to normal in most cats. If we restrict iodine, production of thyroxine decreases. This single treatment will cure 95-98% of cats. Annual blood and urine tests are important in all cats seven years and older to detect hyperthyroidism before potentially irreversible damage occurs. The "radiation badge" worn by x-ray techs for example is good for measuring external exposure to radiation but does nothing to measure intakes of radioactive materials which is the primary concern in the case of a cat treated with radioactive 131I. What are the risks of my cat becoming hypothyroid? Medication typically. Until then, the radiation safety guidelines of Michigan and the NCR are followed. She gained and ate a lot and we were more than happy. Pediatrics, 1998. In a cat treated with radioactive iodine, the drool will contain radioactive materials. 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. In some cases, the cat will develop a heart murmur associated with cardiomyopathy. In a study of 524 hyperthyroid cats treated with I-131, only 11/524 (2.1%) developed (At my facility we treat people but many of the concepts are the same, it is just that patient compliance is easier to obtain with people.) In most cases, only enough radioiodine is given to destroy that part of the gland that is functioning . It is also common for hyperthyroid cats to exhibit increased vocalizing, particularly at night. You must log in or register to reply here. In an effort to put some weight back on him we are still feeding him turkey and gravy baby food in the morning to supplement the dry food. Dr. Freeman has received research or residency funding from, given sponsored lectures for, or provided professional services for Aratana Therapeutics, Elanco, Guiding Stars Licencing Co LLC, Hills Pet Nutrition, Nestl Purina PetCare, P&G Petcare (now Mars), and Royal Canin. 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. This is very important meaning that cats rarely develop an underactive thyroid gland (hypothyroidism) after radioiodine therapy.
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