Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Laboratory based study of undetectable thyroid stimulating hormone.

M A Pollock1, A Jones

  • 1Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Hope Hospital, Salford.

Journal of Clinical Pathology
|December 1, 1989
PubMed
Summary

An undetectable thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) level is common, but isolated low TSH without abnormal thyroid hormones rarely indicates thyroid dysfunction. Further investigation is often unnecessary for these patients.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

IncC of broad-host-range plasmid RK2 modulates KorB transcriptional repressor activity In vivo and operator binding in vitro.

Journal of bacteriology·1999
Same author

'Listen, listen trust your own strange voice' (psychoanalytically informed conversations with a woman suffering serious illness).

Journal of advanced nursing·1999
Same author

p53 and p53-regulated genes in bladder cancer.

BJU international·1999
Same author

Angiogenesis in urological malignancy: prognostic indicator and therapeutic target.

BJU international·1999
Same author

Functional genomics in Caenorhabditis elegans: An approach involving comparisons of sequences from related nematodes.

Genome research·1999
Same author

Directed evolution of a fungal peroxidase.

Nature biotechnology·1999

Area of Science:

  • Endocrinology
  • Clinical Chemistry

Background:

  • Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) is a key indicator of thyroid function.
  • Undetectable TSH levels can be found in various clinical scenarios.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the clinical significance of undetectable TSH concentrations in routine thyroid function tests.
  • To assess the prevalence and implications of isolated undetectable TSH in patients without a history of thyroid disease.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective analysis of 2573 routine thyroid function tests.
  • Follow-up study of 71 randomly selected patients with undetectable TSH and normal thyroid hormones.
  • Measurement of sex hormone binding globulin and antithyroid antibodies in a subset of patients.

Main Results:

Related Experiment Videos

  • 8.4% of patients had undetectable TSH; 18% of these had normal thyroid hormones and no prior thyroid disease.
  • In follow-up, 5/50 had elevated sex hormone binding globulin and 4/49 had detectable antithyroid antibodies.
  • Persistent undetectable TSH was noted in 35/54 patients upon repeat testing.

Conclusions:

  • Isolated undetectable TSH, particularly in outpatients and inpatients without prior thyroid disease, is often not associated with overt thyroid dysfunction or hyperthyroidism.
  • The finding of isolated undetectable TSH warrants careful interpretation, as it is frequently transient and benign.