[Familial dysalbuminemic hyperthyroxinemia in long-term amiodarone treated patients]

A serum sample of an outpatient, under long-term amiodarone (AM) treatment was submitted for routine checkup of thyroid function parameters. It revealed the pattern of euthyroid dysalbuminemic hyperthyroxinemia. Since no results have been published so far covering the influence of amiodarone on the specific thyroxine binding proteins, we undertook a prospective study to investigate 28 amiodarone patients, comparing these with a series of age and sex matched euthyroid subjects. Not one amiodarone patient showed changed radio-T4 distribution against the normal group. Yet, in 3 relatives of the propositus, familial screening revealed the typical pattern of thyroid function tests and of T4 distribution in radio immune ice gel electrophoresis, respectively, proving familial dysalbuminemic hyperthyroxinemia syndrome. Thus, it is most likely that this syndrome has been prevalent already prior to the amiodarone administration and consequently amiodarone was of no influence on thyroxine transport protein patterns.