Effects of aging on the pituitary-thyroid axis in the dog

The effects of advancing age on basal serum concentrations of thyroxine (T4) and thyrotropin (TSH), on T4 responses to TSH, and on TSH responses to thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) were studied in beagle dogs. A total of 27 female dogs belonging to four age-groups were used: prepubertal (11.4 +/- 0.2 (SD) weeks), adult (2.1 +/- 0.3 years), middle-aged (6.5 +/- 0.2 years), and old (12.4 +/- 0.3 years). There was no significant difference between serum T4 concentrations of prepubertal (4.3 +/- 0.1 microgram/dl, mean +/- SE) and adult dogs (4.1 +/- 0.1 microgram/dl). Also, the decreases between adulthood and middle age (16.01%) and between middle age and old age (23.5%) were not significant, but serum T4 levels in the old dogs (2.6 +/- 0.2 micrograms/dl) were significantly (p less than 0.01) lower than those in the adult dogs. Serum cortisol levels showed a progressive increase with advancing age and were significantly higher in old animals (20.1 +/- 2.4 ng/ml) compared to those in the adults (13.4 +/- 1.2 ng/ml). There were no significant differences in serum TSH concentrations among the four age-groups. A single i.v. injection of TSH (0.15 IU/kg B.W.) raised serum T4 levels in the prepubertal animals by more than 45% in 1 h and by more than 100% in 2 h. T4 responses to TSH in the adult dogs were similar to those in the prepubertal dogs but were greatly delayed and subdued in the middle-aged and old animals. A single i.v. injection of TRH (5 micrograms/kg B.W.) increased serum TSH levels in the prepubertal animals by more than 120% in 15 min. These increases were less in the adult (74.8%) and middle-aged (21.3%) animals, and a significant increase (24.6%) in the old animals did not occur until 30 min after TRH treatment. This study demonstrates that, with advancing age, marked alterations occur in the regulation of the T4-TSH system in the dog.