Other side effects may include tenderness in the neck and a temporary increase in thyroid hormones.

CNN: Graves' disease

Because this treatment causes thyroid activity to decline, you'll likely need treatment later to supply your body with normal amounts of thyroid hormones.

CNN: Graves' disease

Damage seems to stem from dioxin's interference with crucial biochemical messengers such as the thyroid hormones, which regulate metabolism and help the brain to develop.

CNN: THE GREAT DIOXIN SCARE

Because the thyroid needs iodine to produce hormones, it takes up the radioiodine, which destroys the overactive thyroid cells over time.

CNN: Graves' disease

Dr Wehr suspects that the effect may have to do with a surge, during the wee hours, of certain hormones associated with the thyroid.

ECONOMIST: People, like all living things, are four dimensional

So this is a kind of trick for flogging the brain and the pituitary and the thyroid to dump out a lot of their respective hormones.

ECONOMIST: People, like all living things, are four dimensional