Wilson's (temperature) syndrome, also called Wilson's thyroid syndrome or WTS, is a term used in
alternative medicine
Alternative medicine is any practice that aims to achieve the healing effects of medicine despite lacking biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or evidence from clinical trials. Complementary medicine (CM), complementary and ...
to attribute various common and
non-specific symptoms to abnormally low
body temperature
Thermoregulation is the ability of an organism to keep its body temperature within certain boundaries, even when the surrounding temperature is very different. A thermoconforming organism, by contrast, simply adopts the surrounding temperatur ...
and impaired conversion of
thyroxine
File:Thyroid_system.svg, upright=1.5, The thyroid system of the thyroid hormones T3 and T4
rect 376 268 820 433 Thyroid-stimulating hormone
rect 411 200 849 266 Thyrotropin-releasing hormone
rect 297 168 502 200 Hypothalamus
rect 66 216 38 ...
(T4) to
triiodothyronine
Triiodothyronine, also known as T3, is a thyroid hormone. It affects almost every physiological process in the body, including growth and development, metabolism, body temperature, and heart rate.
Production of T3 and its prohormone thyrox ...
(T3), despite normal
thyroid function tests.
, a physician who invented the concept and named it after himself, treated these symptoms with sustained-release
triiodothyronine
Triiodothyronine, also known as T3, is a thyroid hormone. It affects almost every physiological process in the body, including growth and development, metabolism, body temperature, and heart rate.
Production of T3 and its prohormone thyrox ...
(SR-T3) until one of his patients died and he was banned from prescribing this treatment any longer.
Wilson's Syndrome is not an actual medical condition, and medical expert groups have warned against it as a potentially dangerous misunderstanding of physiology. The
American Thyroid Association (ATA) released an official statement asserting that Wilson's syndrome is at odds with established knowledge of
thyroid function
The thyroid, or thyroid gland, is an endocrine gland in vertebrates. In humans it is in the neck and consists of two connected lobes. The lower two thirds of the lobes are connected by a thin band of tissue called the thyroid isthmus. The thyr ...
and describing the diagnostic criteria for Wilson's syndrome as "imprecise" and "non-specific".
After one of Wilson's patients died from his treatment in 1988, Florida State Medical Board members described Wilson's temperature syndrome as a "phony syndrome" and as a scam that fleeced patients and healthcare insurers during disciplinary action against Wilson, whose
medical license was suspended for six months.
Origin and claims
The term ''Wilson’s syndrome'' was coined in 1990 by , a physician practicing in
Longwood, Florida. He claimed that fatigue,
headache
Headache is the symptom of pain in the face, head, or neck. It can occur as a migraine, tension-type headache, or cluster headache. There is an increased risk of depression in those with severe headaches.
Headaches can occur as a resul ...
s,
PMS
Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) refers to emotional and physical symptoms that regularly occur in the one to two weeks before the start of each menstrual period. Symptoms resolve around the time menstrual bleeding begins. Different women experienc ...
,
hair loss
Hair loss, also known as alopecia or baldness, refers to a loss of hair from part of the head or body. Typically at least the head is involved. The severity of hair loss can vary from a small area to the entire body. Inflammation or scarr ...
,
irritability, fluid retention,
depression, decreased memory, low
sex drive, unhealthy
nails, and easy weight gain were manifestation of this
eponymous
An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''.
Usage of the word
The term ''epon ...
syndrome. Wilson claims that it is one of "the most common of all chronic ailments and probably takes a greater toll on society than any other medical condition."
He claimed that low thyroid symptoms and low body temperatures in the presence of normal
thyroid function tests are common. To distinguish his alternative concept from conventional, evidence-based
hypothyroidism
Hypothyroidism (also called ''underactive thyroid'', ''low thyroid'' or ''hypothyreosis'') is a disorder of the endocrine system in which the thyroid gland does not produce enough thyroid hormone. It can cause a number of symptoms, such as ...
, he named his concept Wilson's (temperature) syndrome. The main diagnostic sign is an oral body temperature that averages well below . This overlaps with
normal body temperature
Normal human body-temperature (normothermia, euthermia) is the typical temperature range found in humans. The normal human body temperature range is typically stated as .
Human body temperature varies. It depends on sex, age, time of day, exe ...
, which is usually within the range of .
Wilson says that his diagnosis is confirmed if the patient responds to treatment with slow-release T3 (SR-T3).
Patient death and medical license suspension
In 1988, one of Wilson’s patients died at the age of 50 from an
arrhythmia
Arrhythmias, also known as cardiac arrhythmias, heart arrhythmias, or dysrhythmias, are irregularities in the heartbeat, including when it is too fast or too slow. A resting heart rate that is too fast – above 100 beats per minute in adults ...
and
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which m ...
after ingesting excessive amounts of oral thyroid hormone.
Four years later, in 1992, the Florida Board of Medicine took disciplinary action against Wilson,
accusing him of "fleecing" patients with a "phony diagnosis" and dangerous treatments.
The Board of Medicine and Wilson settled the disciplinary action, agreeing to a 6-month suspension of Wilson's medical license, after which Wilson would need to attend 100 hours of
continuing medical education, submit to psychological testing, and pay a $10,000 fine before resuming practice. Wilson also agreed not to prescribe thyroid medication to anyone unless the Board of Medicine determined that the medical community had accepted Wilson's concept and treatment as valid.
See also
*
Broda Otto Barnes
Broda Otto Barnes (14 April 1906 – 1 November 1988) was an American physician and professor of medicine who studied endocrine dysfunction, particularly hypothyroidism. In the 1970s, Barnes published several books arguing that hypothyroidi ...
, another physician who made similar claims
References
{{Pseudoscience
Alternative diagnoses
Pseudoscience
Syndromes