Amie Hornaman

Dr. Amie Hornaman is a practitioner focusing on thyroid dysfunction and Hashimoto's disease. Her work addresses thyroid hormone regulation, including T3, T4, and reverse T3, alongside the impacts of stress, viral triggers, and lifestyle factors on thyroid health. She also discusses diagnostic lab testing and treatment approaches for thyroid disorders.

What they said on air - context

0:29:35needs contextmoderateWhat Doctors Don't Tell You About Your Thyroid | Dr. Amie Ho

Every person has cancer cells continuously present in their body that the immune system constantly destroys.

"the cancer cells that we all have in our body, FYI, we all have them, but your immune system is constantly destroying them." (said at 0:29:35)

The claim states that every person has cancer cells continuously present in their body that are constantly destroyed by the immune system. In immunology and oncology, the framework of cancer immunoediting recognizes an "elimination phase" (or immunosurveillance), in which the immune system detects and destroys nascent transformed cells. Furthermore, genomic sequencing shows that healthy individuals accumulate somatic mutations and clonal expansions in normal tissues throughout life. However, phrasing this as "we all have cancer cells" is a slight oversimplification; histologically normal tissues accumulate driver mutations and altered cells, but possessing mutated or aberrant precursor cells is not clinically or pathologically synonymous with having malignant cancer. The core physiological mechanism of immune elimination (immunosurveillance) acting against newly transformed or aberrant cells is well supported.

supports: The immunobiology of cancer immunosurveillance and immunoediting. (Immunity 2004) · cited 3005x in the literature
"The last fifteen years have seen a reemergence of interest in cancer immunosurveillance and a broadening of this concept into one termed cancer immunoediting. The latter, supported by strong experimental data derived from murine tumor models and provocative correlative data obtained by studying human cancer, holds that the immune system not only protects the host against development of primary nonviral cancers but also sculpts tumor immunogenicity. Cancer immunoediting is a process consisting of three phases: elimination (i.e., cancer immunosurveillance), equilibrium, and escape." (abstract, passage verified)
pubmed full study (doi)
supports: Cancer immunoediting: antigens, mechanisms, and implications to cancer immunotherapy. (Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 2013) · cited 361x in the literature
"Accumulated data from animal models and human cancer patients strongly support the concept that the immune system can identify and control nascent tumor cells in a process called cancer immunosurveillance." (abstract, passage verified)
pubmed full study (doi)
context: Clonal Evolution in Healthy and Premalignant Tissues: Implications for Early Cancer Interc… (Cancer prevention research (Philadelphia, Pa.) 2023) · cited 22x in the literature
"Histologically normal human tissues accumulate significant mutational burden with age. ... Interestingly though, the presence of these mutations and positive clonal selection in isolation remains a poor indicator of potential future cancer transformation in solid tissues." (abstract)
pubmed full study (doi)

1:03:56needs contextmoderateWhat Doctors Don't Tell You About Your Thyroid | Dr. Amie Ho

Hypothyroidism causes myxedema, characterized by visible thickening and swelling of the face, neck, skin, and back of the arms rather than just adipose tissue.

"The myxedema, the swollen face, the moon face, the thickening. Like if you're looking at yourself and your your face, like it's not just fat. It's literally like a thickening of the the face, of the neck, of the skin, back of arms. It's it's thicker." (said at 1:03:56)

Generalized myxedema is a hallmark cutaneous manifestation of severe hypothyroidism caused by the accumulation of hydrophilic glycosaminoglycans (notably hyaluronic acid) in the dermis and subcutaneous tissues, which produces non-pitting edema, facial/periorbital puffiness, and skin thickening rather than simple adipose tissue expansion. However, the specific clinical term 'moon face' (moon facies) is classically a feature of Cushing's syndrome (hypercortisolemia) rather than hypothyroidism.

context: Cutaneous manifestations of endocrine disorders: a guide for dermatologists. (American journal of clinical dermatology 2003) · cited 235x in the literature
"In patients with hypothyroidism, there is hair loss, the skin is cold and pale, with myxedematous changes, mainly in the hands and in the periorbital region. The striking features of Cushing syndrome are centripetal obesity, moon facies, buffalo hump, supraclavicular fat pads, and abdominal striae." (abstract, passage verified)
pubmed full study (doi)
supports: Thyroid hormone action on skin. (Dermato-endocrinology 2011) · cited 55x in the literature
"The name "myxedema" refers to the associated skin condition caused by increased glycosaminoglycan deposition in the skin. Generalized myxedema is still the classic cutaneous sign of hypothyroidism. It is caused by deposition of dermal acid mucopolysaccharides, notably hyaluronic acid. Despite its appearance, the skin does not pit with pressure." (abstract, passage verified)
pubmed full study (doi)

Amie Hornaman

What they said on air - context

Every person has cancer cells continuously present in their body that the immune system constantly destroys.

Hypothyroidism causes myxedema, characterized by visible thickening and swelling of the face, neck, skin, and back of the arms rather than just adipose tissue.

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