Pierre Curie (1859–1906), Marie Sklodowska-Curie (1867–1934)
THE CURIE LEGACY. In 1898, Marie and Pierre Curie discovered radium, which in 1901 was the first radioisotope used in medicine, initially for the treatment of skin disorders. However, it wasn’t until 1946, when artificially produced radioisotopes became available in large quantities, that their medical applications really took off. Currently, there are some thirty radioisotopes used for medical purposes, with more than fifty applications; 95 percent of these radiopharmaceuticals are used for the diagnosis of diseases, with the remainder used for disease treatment. Radioactive iodine (iodine-131), commonly called radioiodine, was among the earliest radiopharmaceuticals and is used to both treat and diagnose disorders of the thyroid gland.
Hormones from the thyroid gland have major effects in adults, such as mediating the rate of metabolism of most cells and the rate and force with which the heart contracts. Synthesis of thyroid hormones is dependent on the availability of iodine in the diet. The thyroid gland very actively and effectively concentrates the body’s stores of iodine and radioiodide, capturing levels twenty to fifty times the concentration found in plasma.
In Graves’ disease, the most common cause of hyperthyroidism, the individual has an enlarged thyroid gland (goiter) and typically a rapid and abnormal heartbeat, as well as nervousness and an elevated metabolic rate, which increases body temperature and weight loss.
Graves’ disease can be treated by surgically removing the thyroid gland or by administration of radioiodine to partially destroy the gland, which spares the patient the risks and expense of surgery. The properties of beta particles emitted from this isotope are such that they don’t travel outside the thyroid gland, thus producing minimal damage to surrounding tissues. However, following surgery or administration of radioiodine, the patient must take thyroid hormone pills for a lifetime. Unlike surgery, the full benefits of radioiodine may not be apparent for months.
Radioiodine is also used to diagnose a range of thyroid disorders. After the oral administration of radioiodide, the thyroid gland is scanned for radioactivity. The amount and extent to which the gland takes up the radioisotope serves as a measure of thyroid activity.
SEE ALSO Thyroxine (1914), Synthroid (1997).
Pierre and Marie Curie are shown in their laboratory, with Pierre holding a vial of radium.