Hypothyroidism affects millions of individuals in the UK and is currently a prevalent diagnosis in more than 1 in 10 individuals aged above 70 years. As the population ages this number is likely to increase. The clinical and economic effects of current management strategies for hypothyroidism, particularly in the older population, need to be evaluated.

The authors would like to thank the patients and relatives involved in this research for their time and insights. We thank the reviewers for their helpful critique of our manuscript. The first author (MW) thanks the Brocher Foundation in Hermance, Geneva (www.brocher.ch), for hosting her as a visiting researcher in March and April 2015, during key stages of this article preparation.

A new technique has been used for the autoxidation of isopropylbenzene t o give aa-dimethylbenzyl hydroperoxide. An alkaline (pH 8-5-10-5) oil-in-water emulsion of the hydrocarbon absorbs oxygen at 85' to give a good yield of the hydroperoxide identical with that previously reported by Hock and Lang (Ber., 1944, 77, 257). The characteristics of the autoxidation are consistent with a radical-chain mechanism.

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