[Serum free thyroid hormones and response of TSH to TRH in nonthyroidal illnesses]

The change in the levels of free thyroid hormones and the pathophysiology of the hypothalamo-pituitary-thyroid axis of patients with nonthyroidal illness (NTI) have not been clearly elucidated so far. Therefore, it was thought of interest to investigate this problem by determining free thyroid hormones and TSH in serum and the response of TSH to TRH in these patients. The subjects employed in this study were 71 cases with hemodialysis, 40 cases with diabetes mellitus, 24 cases with liver cirrhosis, 12 cases with various cancers, 10 cases with anorexia nervosa and 110 normal subjects as controls. The serum total protein, albumin, free T4, free T3, TSH and other parameters of thyroid function were determined, and the TRH test was performed on about 10 patients of each group. Serum TSH was not only determined by a conventional assay system, but with a highly sensitive method, and the data were compared with one another. It was found that the serum free T3 levels were significantly low in all the groups investigated, but the serum free T4 levels were significantly low only in the groups with hemodialysis, decompensated liver cirrhosis, cancers and anorexia nervosa. No significant lowering of serum free T4 was observed in the patients with diabetes mellitus, acute hepatitis and compensated liver cirrhosis. However, serum TSH levels tended to be higher in all the groups studied, though they were not significant. The response of TSH to TRH was low or delayed in about 20-50% of patients with hemodialysis, diabetes mellitus, liver cirrhosis, cancers and anorexia nervosa. It was observed that the serum rT3 concentration was significantly high in the patients with diabetes mellitus and anorexia nervosa but significantly low in the patients on hemodialysis. In the rest of the groups, there were found many cases who showed high levels of serum rT3 although they were not statistically significant. These results indicate that low concentrations of serum free T3 observed in the majority of the patients with severe NTI were, at least in part, due to the decrease in the peripheral conversion of T4 to T3 and the lowered sensitivity of the anterior pituitary to thyroid hormones and TRH.