METABOLIC EFFECTS OF THYROTROPHIC HORMONE IN MAN

Abstract

ABSTRACT The metabolic effects of prolonged administration of thyrotrophic hormone were studied in 5 euthyroid subjects and in 1 patient who had been subjected to total thyroidectomy. Thyrotrophic hormone (TSH) had no effect in the thyroidectomized patient, thus showing that the metabolic effects were mediated by stimulation of the thyroid. In the euthyroid subjects the TSH caused an increase in thyroid activity as judged by the rise in basal metabolic rate (BMR) and serum protein-bound iodine (PBI) and the clinical symptoms. The administration of TSH resulted in: elevation of the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and in an increase of the fibrinogen, haptoglobin, coeruloplasmin and total hexose content of the serum; an increase of α1-, α2-, and β2-globulins and smaller and less consistent changes in the albumin and β1- and γ-globulins, i. e. changes of the type seen in acute infections or acute inflammatory diseases; a fall in the total serum lipids, cholesterol and phospholipids, and less consistent changes in the α- and β-lipoproteins. During continued administration of TSH all the above mentioned metabolic effects tended to level off and/or disappear, probably owing to formation of antibodies. Withdrawal of TSH was followed by a rebound phenomenon, presumably because of diminished production of thyroid hormone. From the clinical point of view the possibility of increased thyroid function being a cause of elevated ESR and of the serum proteins changes resembling those seen in acute inflammatory processes should perhaps be considered.