Friends of the ATA
Welcome to Clinical Thyroidology for Patients, bringing to you, the patient, the most up-to-date, cutting edge thyroid research. What you read here as research studies will likely become the accepted practice in the future. Clinical Thyroidology for Patients is published on a monthly basis and includes summaries of research studies that were discussed in a recent issue of Clinical Thyroidology, a publication of the American Thyroid Association for physicians. This means that you, the patients, are getting the latest information on thyroid research and treatment almost as soon as your physicians.

We will be providing even faster updates of late-breaking thyroid news through Twitter at @thyroidfriends and on Facebook. Our goal is to provide you with the tools to be the most informed thyroid patient in the waiting room. Also check out our friends in the ATA Alliance for Thyroid Patient Education. The Alliance member groups consist of: the American Thyroid Association, the Graves' Disease and Thyroid Foundation, the Light of Life Foundation, ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors Association, Thyroid Cancer Canada and Thyroid Federation International.

Check out the updated Hypothyroidism Booklet The ATA has released a revised and updated Hypothyroidism booklet for patients and their families. The Clinical Affairs committee of the ATA has reviewed the original booklet published online in 2004, creating a valuable educational resource for all those impacted by hypothyroidism.

Clinical Thyroidology for Patients
Up-to-date information to help you understand thyroid disease through the latest research.

In this issue, the studies ask the following questions:

• How many patients and clinicians are aware of the changes that occur with hypothyroidism during pregnancy?
• Can pre-op ultrasound help identify vocal cord abnormalities?
• Is obesity a risk factor for thyroid cancer?
• Is Hashimotos thyroiditis a risk factor for thyroid cancer?
• Does nodule size matter to the risk for thyroid cancer?
• Are papillary cancers that have a gene mutation more aggressive?

We welcome your feedback and suggestions. Let us know what you want to see in this publication. I hope you find these summaries interesting and informative.

— Alan P. Farwell, MD

HYPOTHYROIDISM AND PREGNANCY Clinical care of women with hypothyroidism during their reproductive years requires awareness of the consequences by patients and clinicians THYROID SURGERY Surgeon-performed laryngeal ultrasound can be used to screen for vocal-cord abnormalities before thyroid surgery THYROID CANCER Is obesity a risk factor for thyroid cancer?

THYROID CANCER Is there a relationship between thyroid cancer and Hashimoto's thyroiditis? THYROID CANCER The risk of cancer increases when a thyroid nodule is larger then 2cm THYROID CANCER The BRAF V600E gene mutation in papillary thyroid cancer is associated with more rapid cancer growth and a higher death rate

The goal of our Alliance is to provide accurate and reliable information for patients about the diagnosis, evaluation and treatment of thyroid diseases.

We look forward to future collaborations and continuing to work together towards the improvement of thyroid education and resources for patients.

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