WILSON’S  (REVERSE T3 DOMINANCE) SYNDROME

While “boderline” thyroid hypofunction (low thyroid function) is becoming more widely accepted by traditional endocrinologists, Wilson's Syndrome is an often overlooked and somewhat controversial diagnosis. This is in part because it exhibits so many different symptoms (ranging from headache, to bad breath, to fatigue, etc.), but also because definitive laboratory testing may or may not be diagnostic.  One very characteristic symptom is a persistently low body temperature. 

Enzymes are the specialized proteins which facilitate every chemical reaction in the body. Human enzymes are designed to operate at a constant temperature of 98.6 degrees. When the temperature drops more than 0.4 degrees below that, symptoms appear from every part of the body due to the fact that enzymes are not functioning correctly.

For many years patients have been coming to doctors complaining of symptoms such as cold hands and feet, intolerance to cold weather, nausea, headache, fatigue, irritability, dry skin, dry hair, loss of hair, insomnia, weight gain, weight loss, and many other vague complaints.

This sounds like hypothyroidism, and it may be that, with or without a disturbance in hormone levels which appears as an abnormality on lab tests. It may be that some people simply need more thyroid hormone than others to maintain normal metabolism. When tests are ordered and come back normal, the patient is either treated symptomatically or told "It is all in your head." Practitioners of complementary medicine have been willing to treat hypometabolism as if it were hypothyroidism by prescribing thyroid hormone treatment because it helped, despite the fact of normal lab tests for thyroid dysfunction.

However, now we know that these same symptoms can be causes by a condition of hypometabolism which in turn can be caused by a variety of factors, one of which is an imbalance of thyroid homones rather than a simple deficiency. The thyroid gland makes T3 and T4. T3 is the active thyroid hormone and every cell in the body has molecular docking stations for T3. T4 is made by the thyroid, circulates and eventually ends up in the liver where it is converted to T3 and a tiny amount of a substance called Reverse T3 (RT3). RT3 has no action on the cell, except that it binds with the receptor sites, the tiny docking stations, and blocks the action of T3. However, in the normal situation, T3 dominates and RT3 is no problem.

However, when a person experiences prolonged stress, the adrenal glands respond by manufacturing a large amount of cortisol. Cortisol inhibits the conversion of T4 to T3 and favors the conversion of T4 to RT3. If stress is prolonged, a condition called Reverse T3 Dominance occurs and persists even after the stress passes and cortisol levels fall. Apparently, RT3 itself acts like cortisol and blocks the conversion of T4 to T3.

Reverse T3 Dominance is the cause of hypometabolism because too many receptor sites are blocked by RT3 and the chemical reactions of life slow down. These reactions give off heat and are the source of heat in the body. They make us warm blooded. When those reactions slow down, our temperature drops. This drop in temperature slows down enzymes in every cell of the body causing a condition of Multiple Enzyme Dysfunction which is the heart of hypometabolism.

What are the effects of Multiple Enzyme Dysfunction? They include:

fatigue, headache, migraine, PMS, irritability, fluid retention, anxiety and panic attacks, hair loss, depression, decreased memory and concentration, low sex drive, unhealthy nails, low motivation and ambition, and on and on.

What is elegant about Dr. Wilson's discovery is that the condition is easily diagnosed and treatment is curative. After proper treatment the patient is back to normal and there is no further need for treatment.

The incidence of hypometabolism is about 20% in the general population and 80% for those people who visit doctors. Many people previously treated as "sub-acute hypothyroidism" are actually cases of hypometabolism from other causes, a small percent of which are Wilson's Syndrome. One way to test yourself: using a mercury thermometer, take your oral temperature at 10 random times through the day. If the average is less than 98.0 Fahrenheit, you are hypometabolic.  One possible cause of hypometabolism is Wilson's.

Next you will need T3 and Reverse T3 tests so your doctor can look at the ratio between these two values and correlate it with your clinical picture. If the ratio of T3 to Reverse T3 is less than ten to one, and if you have a low body temperature and some of the symptoms mentioned above, then you may benefit from a trial of Time Release T3 Therapy. 

The Major Causes of  Hypometabolsm

If the ratio of reverse T3 to T3 is not thus disturbed, you do not have Wilson's and treating you with Wilson's Protocol will be of no lasting benefit. The most common causes of hypometabolism are mercury toxicity and chronic gut wall infection. Mercury toxicity is extremely common thanks to the dental profession which installs tons of mercury in people's mouths every day (dental amalgam is 35-50% mercury). While dentists claim it is no problem, they are repeating the party line. 

Mercury toxicity is frequently associated with chronic gut wall infection. The mechanism is this: acid forming diet plus dental amalgams leads to transitory leaky gut syndrome. Anaerobic bacteria leak into the gut wall and set up a permanent residence in the gut associated lymphoid tissue (GALT) known as Peyer's Patches. These bacteria produce acid toxins which have a systemic effect on long term health and disable the gut lining so that dysbiosis results. The symptoms produced are fatigue and bloating which is not dependent on any specific food intake. The treatment for this condition is completely different from Wilson's.  

Back to Wilson's

It is very important to correctly make the diagnosis before treatment. Only about one out of 20 people who think they have Wilson's Syndrome actually has it. However, if you are one of those people with Wilson's, only Wilson's Time Release T3 Protocol will help you. In Wilson's Protocol you begin with 7.5 micrograms (mcg.) of time release T3 every twelve hours, to the minute. You continue this for two days, taking your temperature three times each day. If your temperature has nor hit an average of 98.2 or more, you then increase the dose to 15 mcg. every twelve hours and continue to measure your temperature. You continue increasing your dose of time release T3 by 7.5 mcg. every 48 hours until your temperature reaches an average of 98.2 or until you develop symptoms of hyperthyroidism such as increased blood pressure, rapid heart beat, or headache. All this must be done under the supervision of a doctor.) The objective is to reach your ceiling dose, i.e., that dose which raises your temperature to 98.2 or is just under that dose which produces hypertension, tachycardia, or headache. You should then maintain that dose every twelve hours for thirty days. Then you taper off at the same pace, coming down 7.5 mcg. every two days until you are off the medicine.

At this point you may be back to a normal temperature without further treatment. If you are not, repeat the process. According to Dr. Wilson, most people are back to normal after one or two cycles of treatment. However, he does mention one case which required five courses of therapy before normalization occurred. When this occurs, all symptoms will disappear!

 The following links are sources of information about Wilson's Syndrome:

http://www.wilsonssyndrome.com/index.html E. Denis Wilson is the discoverer of Wilson's Syndrom.  His book Wilson's Thyroid Syndrome - A Reversible Thyroid Problem lists 53 different symptoms. 

http://www.nacb.org/lmpg/thyroid_lmpg_pub.stm Clinical site describing laboratory testing for thyroid disease

http://www.thyroid.org/resources/patients/brochures/hypothyroidismbrochure.pdf The American Thyroid Association has an excellent 26 page book on hypothyroidism (low thyroid)

http://www.wilsonsthyroidsyndrome.com/ Extensive information on Wilson’s Syndrome

The following diagrams will help you understand some of the discussion about the Reverse T3and how Wilson’s Syndrome might affect your health :

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