Further, the litter will be radioactive as most of the radioactive iodine will be excreted via this route. This is because the parathyroid glands (responsible for calcium balance in the body) are near the thyroid gland and may be damaged or accidentally removed during surgery.
So in this case the targeted radiation exposure is actually increasing survival for these patients. Recurrence of hyperthyroidism is rare after I-131 therapy. While the treatment is fairly expensive, over the long term it could be cheaper than medication and is on a par with surgical treatment. Because of these rare but serious side effect risks, your cat will need to be closely monitored by having simple blood tests performed every three to six months when using this medication. They may develop periodic vomiting or diarrhea, and fur may appear unkempt. This can best be done by monitoring your cats body condition, muscle condition, and weight. The School of Veterinary Medicine's Ryan Hospital, however, is one of the few veterinary centers in the region to offer a treatment that can cure the disease: a single shot of radioactive iodine, I-131. Despite the extensive blood and urine tests, chest x-rays and physical exams that we require before radioiodine therapy, some of these conditions remain undiagnosed at the time of radioiodine therapy. With this therapy, you take radioactive iodine (radioiodine) by mouth. Treatment For some cats, a veterinary therapeutic diet low in iodine may be all thats required to control symptoms. The majority of cats treated with radioactive iodine have normal hormone levels within one to two weeks of treatment. Radioactive iodine therapy is a very effective way to treat hyperthyroidism (I-131). During treatment, radioactive iodine is administered as an injection and is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream. The only method to estimate that dose is to measure the radioiodine within your own thyroid and the types of equipment to measure that uptake are very expensive and difficult to interpret. 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. Prominent in the regulations established by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for radioactive materials users are guidelines that limit exposure to radiation workers, and members of the general public. What is happening in this procedure is that a portion of the radioactive iodine is being taken up by the cat's thyroid to treat its condition (hyperthyroidism, I assume?). There are several treatment options, and your veterinarian will determine the best choice for your cat. Thyroidectomy (largely replaced by radioactive iodine . A large study found an increase in some cancer types in people who had radioactive iodine treatment for hyperthyroidism compared with the general population. As for equipment for tracking radioactive contamination, there really is no readily available "home-testing" equipment. I'll be honest, the last thing I (or my vet) worried about with Sara was gaining weight. No ill effects have been noted in the children born to parents who received radioactive iodine in the past. The information posted on this web page is intended as general reference information only. Keeping your pets food temperature just right. Standards for Protection against Radiation. The American Thyroid Association notes that weight gain develops over a long time and may have many causes other than the underactive thyroid.
As with surgery, you may need to take thyroid hormone . However, it may not be the best treatment for your particular cat. The radioactive isotope, Iodine-131 ( 131 I), is administered as a one-off injection. Do not allow your cat to sleep against your body. People may take RAI . By 14 days after treatment, the radioactivity will have decayed to a very low level. To help your cat gain weight, you need to increase the protein and . 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. Cat Articles | About TheCatSite.com. Rarely, people can feel pain in their neck. As to your question about "home-testing equipment" and "something else to monitor and determine (your) exposure," there really are no good options for that. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Therefore if you adhere to the release instructions we provide you with (copies provided on admission and again at discharge), you should be assured of getting less than 1 mSv exposure from interacting with your cat. Long-Term Follow-up of Hyperthyroid Cats Treated with Iodine-131. 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. 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. She gained and ate a lot and we were more than happy. Other therapeutic monitoring. You would actually have to ingest the cats waste for it to be harmful to you. If you know that your cat has hyperthyroidism, you probably have already seen your vet in order to have this disease properly treated. 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 give him some baby food and wet cat food. Other than unexplained weight loss, your cat may also become more restless, hyperactive, vocal, and extremely hungry! More specific information on what to expect when your cat is treated with radioactive-iodine therapy at Cornell can be found here. Only the bare necessitiesfood and water and quick litter cleanupsare provided by veterinary technicians during your cat's hospital stay. Because of the important role the thyroid gland plays in the body, some cats with hyperthyroidism develop secondary problems, including heart disease and high blood pressure. Radioactive iodine targets the thyroid tissue - as this is the only tissue in the body that uses significant quantities of iodine. Thyrotoxic cardiomyopathy may develop because the heart enlarges and thickens to meet the increased metabolic demands. The more common symptoms are an increase in thirst, urination, and appetite, as well as weight loss. Dietary restriction of iodine is, however, somewhat controversial because of concerns about the effects of long-term iodine restriction on overall health and the possibility that such a diet may actually backfire and worsen hyperthyroidism. Did she have stage 1 prior to treatment for hyperthyroidism or did the stage 1 unmask after treatment started and then jump to stage 4? After initial stabilisation with oral medications, a number of curative treatments are also available. Medication typically. You should talk with your veterinarian about what diets may be best for him in this case. Risk of Ionizing Radiation Exposure to Children: A Subject Review. Your doctor will order a test called a radioactive iodine uptake and scan to determine the dose you will need. When this occurs, a second test, usually afree T4 by equilibrium dialysis (FT4 by ED)or aT3 suppression test,is performed. However, an overactive thyroid is quite common. It is also common for hyperthyroid cats to exhibit increased vocalizing, particularly at night. Is radioactive iodine treatment safe? The iodine, which is required for the production of both T3 and T4, is taken up by the thyroid gland and the emitted radiation destroys the abnormal thyroid tissue without damaging the surrounding tissues or the parathyroid glands. This is more common if you still had a large part of your thyroid gland when you have radioactive iodine treatment. Exposure to high levels of dietary iodine may cause susceptible cats to develop hyperthyroidism. Cats are homed in our spacious, purpose-built radioactive iodine unit and cared for by our dedicated team of radioiodine nurses. Because of strict treatment guidelines, most facilities will not allow visitors during this quarantine period. The goal of hyperthyroidism treatment is to lower the levels of thyroid hormones in the body. Specific facts and circumstances may affect the applicability of concepts, materials, and information described herein. 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. The treatment of choice for hyperthyroid cats is radioactive iodine therapy, which is a cure. Always check with your veterinarian before changing your pets diet, medication, or physical activity routines. Cats receive a single dose of radioactive iodine by either subcutaneous injection or by a capsule given by mouth. The clinical significance of weight gain from the time of diagnosis of hyperthyroidism to 2 years after radioactive iodine therapy is unclear. 2000-2023 TheCatSite.com. We found out about the radioactive iodine treatment and after lots.of research decided this was the way to go. Ideally, the total GFR should be above 2.25 mL/min/kg. Radioactive iodine therapy is becoming the treatment of choice for felines with hyperthyroidism. Radioactive iodine treatment is a therapy that your veterinary surgeon may recommend if your cat is diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. Treatment usually requires one or two weeks of hospitalization at a veterinary hospital licensed to administer radiation therapy. Risks from hyperthyroidism. 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. 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. It might not be an option for a frail cat who shouldn't undergo anesthesia. All middle-aged and senior cats should receive a complete physical examination by a veterinarian every six months. 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. Jeff Brunette, CHP, Ask the Experts is posting answers using only SI (the International System of Units) in accordance with international practice. Let's tackle the external exposure first as it is the simplest concept. In some cats, anorexia develops as the disease progresses. Your veterinarian's instructions regarding separation for the two weeks are simply doing the same thing we do with people. Remember that theNRC regulationsrequire that release criteria and discharge instructions provided to owners of hyperthyroid cats prevent exposures of more than 1 mSv. Hyperthyroidism, or an overactive thyroid, is a common disease of older cats. Thus, individuals who opt for .