The effect of aspirin and indomethacin on the TRH response in man

A double-blind study of the effect of two inhibitors of prostaglandin synthesis on the TRH stimulation of serum TSH and prolactin was carried out in 35 normal males. The subjects were evaluated before and after the administration of indomethacin or aspirin for one week. Both indomethacin and aspirin lowered plasma prostaglandin E and F levels significantly. Indomethacin treatment had no effect on the serum TSH or prolactin response to 100 mug TRH or the serum T3 and T4 levels. In contrast, aspirin treatment significantly decreased the serum TSH response to TRH and significantly lowered mean total serum T3 (RIA) and T4 (D). There was no effect on the prolactin response to TRH. These findings suggest that aspirin blocks TRH responsiveness by a mechanism other than the inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis, probably by its previously demonstrated effect on increasing the fraction of unbound thyroid hormone.