Chemistry Report-Investigation

Refined Question:

How does the use of iodine-131 in radioactive therapy (radio-oncology) for hyperthyroidism in felines compare to the previous use of methimazole in veterinary sciences?

Abstract

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This research investigation compares the treatment of methimazole and radioiodine in felines to treat hyperthyroidism. The Veterinary industry is continuing to produce more efficient ways to treat patients. Though the hardest part of this process is supporting the use of a new treatment, that could potentially replace the standard practise of an old one. I-131 is beginning to be implemented for practices in many clinics around the world. However, some people are still uncertain about the safety of radioisotopes. Through analysing the claim ‘Radioisotopes are too harmful to use in medicine’ using observation of decay rates and case studies, this conclusion can be produced.

Contextual Information

Iodine 131

Radioactive iodine is a form of radioiodine used to fight against cancerous cells in the thyroid gland. The thyroid gland is the only gland with the ability to absorb the chemical. When the body takes in the iodine-131, it absorbs into the circulatory system through the gastrointestinal tract. The thyroid becomes concentrates with the blood, where the iodine begins killing its cells. The unstable isotope emits beta radiation. Radioactive iodine has a total half-life of eight days. The isotope contains 53 protons and 78 neutrons and has a mass of 130.9061246(12) u.

Radiation therapy

Radioactive therapy incorporates the use of ionizing radiation into medical practises. Radiation therapy is used to treats cancers and kill maligent cells. The radiation damages the DNA of the cancerous cells. This is through forming small breaks in the DNA, which prevents cancerous cells from dividing and growing. Cells near the cells affected by radiation can also die, though most recover.

Hyperthyroidism

Hyperthyroidism is a condition stemmed from an overactive thyroid gland. The thyroid produces large amounts of triiodothyronine and thyroxine, which is excess to the levels the body requires. This excess in hormones makes the metabolism to speed up, this causes the body to work harder and at a faster rate. The condition causes rapid heart rate, irritability and weight loss. This is treated with radioactive iodine, medication or sometimes surgery.

Methimazole

Methimazole, Thiamazole or Tapazole is a medication used in the treatment of hyperthyroidism. The medication interferes with the replication of cancerous cells. The chemical formula of the compound is ‘C₄H₆N₂S’. this means carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and sulphur are all present in methimazole.

Researched Evidence and Analysis

Evidence Piece 1 Analysis

The first evidence piece is a diagram displaying the radioactive decay of Iodine into Xenon. On the right side of the diagram, the half-life decay is displayed. The iodine has a half-life of 8 days, which in consideration to other radioisotopes is short. In that period ‘636.89 KeV’ of beta radiation is emitted from the isotope. The energised electrons can infiltrate and damage nearby tissue within 2 mm from the location of emission. Approximately 90 percent of all iodine-131 atoms decay into xenon-13.

Evidence Piece 2 Analysis

Evidence piece 2 is a graph demonstrating the presence of methimazole, iodine and beta-blocker levothyroxine in the bloodstream of a hyperthyroid cat. The graph purely aims at obtaining data on the presence of methimazole, and the bars underneath display the levels of the other compounds present. As time progresses the methimazole levels in the bloodstream lower. As the compound is broken down the initial spike at the top end of the graph occurs. The starting micro-litre measurement of methimazole is ‘6000’. When the by-products of the reaction are produced, less of the reactant is left. This forms a limited reactant as the intake of methimazole is a one treatment procedure. This causes the consistent decrease of the presence of the medication in the bloodstream (6000 to under 1000 micro-litres). Though at the end of the graph sudden inclining spikes are observed. From the report, the researchers claimed that this outlier may have been due to digestion or other exterior environmental factors. Due to the spikes being measured over 5-day increments, the trend in these spikes is hard to observe.

Evidence Piece 3 Analysis

Evidence piece 3 is a graph exhibiting the uptake of blood from a thyroid gland in different physical states. The following data was collected over an experimental period of 48 hours. Chemical compounds cannot be easily in taken by a hypothyroid as the blood pressure is too low for the reactants to interact with the compounds present in the thyroid. In contrast a hyperthyroid can intake a large number of reactants and compounds from the blood stream due to blood pressure

Conclusion

This report can support the conclusion that radioisotopes are not harmful. Through the analysation of half-life decay, this can be justified. The radiation of beta particles from the isotope is a short period which minimises the impact created on the living organism. However, radioiodine still requires monitoring and safety precautions. Regulation of radioisotope quantities and environmental factors is still required to make sure no additional elements or reactants, interfere with the radiation treatment. The comparison to the absorption rate of the drug methimazole must also be compared. The absorption of methimazole has shorter lasting effects than the admission of radioiodine. The amount of time it takes for methimazole to lower significantly is thirty days. The time frame for radioiodine to completely decay is 64 days. The time frame means the presence of the chemicals in the body of the feline, is lower with methimazole treatment. Nevertheless, it must be considered that the methimazole treatment must occur over several admissions. This increases the overall received dose over a more considerable amount of time. The ability of radiation to react within the thyroid gland is dependent on the reactants or limiting reactants present. Hyperthyroidism causes the increase in blood pressure which transports the reactants to and from the reaction. The intensity of the hyperthyroidism, however, cannot be measured. This leaves medical professionals and chemists having to estimates dosages. The estimating makes the treatment of radiation not always accurate. Risk of under dosage and overdosage becomes an issue when treating this disease.

Quality of Evidence

The quality of the collected evidence in this report is deemed at a high stature. The three resources were from Medical, veterinary centres or national health centres. These centres contain medical professionals with years of experience in their fields. Information provided by faculties and facilities as such is reliable, as university personnel are required to overview all published information. All sources were also purposely extracted from different websites, to not cause a bias or misinformed error. Having different individuals’ opinions and information in the investigation minimises the risk of bias in the report. The individuals could potentially have made an error in their case study, which if the majority of the evidence was extracted from could have made the investigation falsified.

Improvements and Extensions

An extension that would be planned to continue this research would be to change two things—at a more minimal level, testing and finding data on other treatments to treat hyperthyroidism. Analysing other treatments such as Surgery or SMD could provide better information toward the choice for patients when selecting a treatment method—at a more substantial degree, beginning to test other isotopes to help further support or disprove the use of isotopes in medicine. All isotopes are different, so the conclusion that all isotopes are harmful or safe cannot be entirely made without further analysis.

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