Jostel's TSH index | |
---|---|
Synonyms | Jostel's thyrotropin index |
Reference range | 1.3–4.1 |
MeSH | D013960 |
Jostel's TSH index (TSHI or JTI), also referred to as Jostel's thyrotropin index or Thyroid Function index (TFI), is a method for estimating the thyrotropic (i.e. thyroid stimulating) function of the anterior pituitary lobe in a quantitative way. [1] [2] The equation has been derived from the logarithmic standard model of thyroid homeostasis. [3] [4] [5] [6] In a paper from 2014 further study was suggested to show if it is useful, [7] but the 2018 guideline by the European Thyroid Association for the diagnosis of uncertain cases of central hypothyroidism regarded it as beneficial. [2] It is also recommended for purposes of differential diagnosis in the sociomedical expert assessment. [8]
Jostel's TSH index can be calculated with
from equilibrium serum concentrations of thyrotropin (TSH), free T4 (FT4) and a correction coefficient derived from the logarithmic standard model (β = 0.1345).
An alternative standardised form (standardised TSH index or sTSHI) is calculated with. [1]
as a z-transformed value incorporating mean (2.7) and standard deviation (0.676) of TSHI in a reference population [5]
Parameter | Lower limit | Upper limit | Unit |
TSHI | 1.3 [1] | 4.1 [1] | |
sTSHI | -2 [1] | 2 [1] | |
The TSH index is reduced in patients with secondary hypothyroidism resulting from thyrotropic insufficiency. [1] [9] [10] [11] For this indication, it has, however, up to now only been validated in adults. [12] JTI was also found reduced in cases of TACITUS syndrome (non-thyroidal illness syndrome) as an example of type 1 thyroid allostasis. [13] [14] Conversely, an elevated thyroid function index may serve as a biomarker for type 2 allostasis and contextual stress. [15] [16]
Jostel's TSH index may decrease under therapy with the antidiabetic drug metformin [17] , especially in women under oral contraceptives. [18]
In two large population-based cohorts included in the Study of Health in Pomerania differentially correlated to some markers of body composition. Correlation was positive to body mass index (BMI), waist circumference and fat mass, but negative to body cell mass. [19] With the exception of fat mass all correlations were age-dependent. [19] Very similar observations have been made earlier in the NHANES dataset. [20]
In Parkinson's disease, JTI is significantly elevated in early sub-types of the disease compared to an advanced group. [21]
A longitudinal study in euthyroid subjects with structural heart disease found that JTI predicts the risk of malignant arrhythmia including ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia. [22] This applies to both incidence and event-free survival. [22] A second study in a different population undergoing coronary angiography arrived at similar results [23] . It was therefore concluded that an elevated set point of thyroid homeostasis may contribute to cardiovascular risk. A positive correlation of JTI to SIQALS 2, [16] a score for allostatic load, suggests that thyroid hormones are among the mediators linking stress to major cardiovascular endpoints. [24]
Jostel's TSH index and the thyroid feedback quantile-based index, another biomarker for the central thyrotropic function, were observed to be elevated in certain psychiatric diseases including schizophrenia [25] .
Another study demonstrated the TSH index to inversely correlate to thyroid's secretory capacity and thyroid volume. [26] It is unclear if this finding reflects shortcomings of the index (i.e. low specificity in the setting of subclinical hypothyroidism) or plastic responses of the pituitary gland to beginning hypothyroidism.[ citation needed ]
In subjects with type 2 diabetes, treatment with beta blockers resulted in increased TSH index, but the mechanism is unclear. [27]
Negative correlation of Jostel's TSH index to the urinary excretion of certain phthalates suggests that endocrine disruptors may affect the central set point of thyroid homeostasis. [28]
Drugs that reduce the TSH index, probably via effects on the central set point of the feedback loop, include mirtazapine [29] and oxcarbazepine [30] .
A reduction of Jostel's TSH index may predict the development of hypophysitis due to therapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors, e. g. ipilimumab [31] .
Hyperthyroidism is the condition that occurs due to excessive production of thyroid hormones by the thyroid gland. Thyrotoxicosis is the condition that occurs due to excessive thyroid hormone of any cause and therefore includes hyperthyroidism. Some, however, use the terms interchangeably. Signs and symptoms vary between people and may include irritability, muscle weakness, sleeping problems, a fast heartbeat, heat intolerance, diarrhea, enlargement of the thyroid, hand tremor, and weight loss. Symptoms are typically less severe in the elderly and during pregnancy. An uncommon but life-threatening complication is thyroid storm in which an event such as an infection results in worsening symptoms such as confusion and a high temperature; this often results in death. The opposite is hypothyroidism, when the thyroid gland does not make enough thyroid hormone.
Hypothyroidism is a disorder of the endocrine system in which the thyroid gland does not produce enough thyroid hormones. It can cause a number of symptoms, such as poor ability to tolerate cold, extreme fatigue, muscle aches, constipation, slow heart rate, depression, and weight gain. Occasionally there may be swelling of the front part of the neck due to goitre. Untreated cases of hypothyroidism during pregnancy can lead to delays in growth and intellectual development in the baby or congenital iodine deficiency syndrome.
Iodothyronine deiodinases (EC 1.21.99.4 and EC 1.21.99.3) are a subfamily of deiodinase enzymes important in the activation and deactivation of thyroid hormones. Thyroxine (T4), the precursor of 3,5,3'-triiodothyronine (T3) is transformed into T3 by deiodinase activity. T3, through binding a nuclear thyroid hormone receptor, influences the expression of genes in practically every vertebrate cell. Iodothyronine deiodinases are unusual in that these enzymes contain selenium, in the form of an otherwise rare amino acid selenocysteine.
Thyroid-stimulating hormone (also known as thyrotropin, thyrotropic hormone, or abbreviated TSH) is a pituitary hormone that stimulates the thyroid gland to produce thyroxine (T4), and then triiodothyronine (T3) which stimulates the metabolism of almost every tissue in the body. It is a glycoprotein hormone produced by thyrotrope cells in the anterior pituitary gland, which regulates the endocrine function of the thyroid.
Levothyroxine, also known as L-thyroxine, is a synthetic form of the thyroid hormone thyroxine (T4). It is used to treat thyroid hormone deficiency (hypothyroidism), including a severe form known as myxedema coma. It may also be used to treat and prevent certain types of thyroid tumors. It is not indicated for weight loss. Levothyroxine is taken orally (by mouth) or given by intravenous injection. Levothyroxine has a half-life of 7.5 days when taken daily, so about six weeks is required for it to reach a steady level in the blood.
Thyroid storm is a rare but severe and life-threatening complication of hyperthyroidism. It occurs when an overactive thyroid leads to hypermetabolism, which can cause death from cardiac arrest or multiple organ failure.
Thyroid function tests (TFTs) is a collective term for blood tests used to check the function of the thyroid. TFTs may be requested if a patient is thought to suffer from hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism, or to monitor the effectiveness of either thyroid-suppression or hormone replacement therapy. It is also requested routinely in conditions linked to thyroid disease, such as atrial fibrillation and anxiety disorder.
The hypothalamic–pituitary–thyroid axis is part of the neuroendocrine system responsible for the regulation of metabolism and also responds to stress.
Reverse triiodothyronine (3,3′,5′-triiodothyronine, reverse T3, or rT3) is an isomer of triiodothyronine (3,5,3′ triiodothyronine, T3).
Euthyroid sick syndrome (ESS) is a state of adaptation or dysregulation of thyrotropic feedback control wherein the levels of T3 and/or T4 are abnormal, but the thyroid gland does not appear to be dysfunctional. This condition may result from allostatic responses of hypothalamus-pituitary-thyroid feedback control, dyshomeostatic disorders, drug interferences, and impaired assay characteristics in critical illness.
Myxedema coma is an extreme or decompensated form of hypothyroidism and while uncommon, is potentially lethal. A person may have laboratory values identical to a "normal" hypothyroid state, but a stressful event precipitates the myxedema coma state, usually in the elderly. Primary symptoms of myxedema coma are altered mental status and low body temperature. Low blood sugar, low blood pressure, hyponatremia, hypercapnia, hypoxia, slowed heart rate, and hypoventilation may also occur. Myxedema, although included in the name, is not necessarily seen in myxedema coma. Coma is also not necessarily seen in myxedema coma, as patients may be obtunded without being comatose.
Deiodinase (monodeiodinase) is a peroxidase enzyme that is involved in the activation or deactivation of thyroid hormones.
Thyroid disease in pregnancy can affect the health of the mother as well as the child before and after delivery. Thyroid disorders are prevalent in women of child-bearing age and for this reason commonly present as a pre-existing disease in pregnancy, or after childbirth. Uncorrected thyroid dysfunction in pregnancy has adverse effects on fetal and maternal well-being. The deleterious effects of thyroid dysfunction can also extend beyond pregnancy and delivery to affect neurointellectual development in the early life of the child. Due to an increase in thyroxine binding globulin, an increase in placental type 3 deioidinase and the placental transfer of maternal thyroxine to the fetus, the demand for thyroid hormones is increased during pregnancy. The necessary increase in thyroid hormone production is facilitated by high human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) concentrations, which bind the TSH receptor and stimulate the maternal thyroid to increase maternal thyroid hormone concentrations by roughly 50%. If the necessary increase in thyroid function cannot be met, this may cause a previously unnoticed (mild) thyroid disorder to worsen and become evident as gestational thyroid disease. Currently, there is not enough evidence to suggest that screening for thyroid dysfunction is beneficial, especially since treatment thyroid hormone supplementation may come with a risk of overtreatment. After women give birth, about 5% develop postpartum thyroiditis which can occur up to nine months afterwards. This is characterized by a short period of hyperthyroidism followed by a period of hypothyroidism; 20–40% remain permanently hypothyroid.
Thyroid's secretory capacity is the maximum stimulated amount of thyroxine that the thyroid can produce in a given time-unit.
The sum activity of peripheral deiodinases is the maximum amount of triiodothyronine produced per time-unit under conditions of substrate saturation. It is assumed to reflect the activity of deiodinases outside the central nervous system and other isolated compartments. GD is therefore expected to reflect predominantly the activity of type I deiodinase.
Pulsatile secretion is a biochemical phenomenon observed in a wide variety of cell and tissue types, in which chemical products are secreted in a regular temporal pattern. The most common cellular products observed to be released in this manner are intercellular signaling molecules such as hormones or neurotransmitters. Examples of hormones that are secreted pulsatilely include insulin, thyrotropin, TRH, gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and growth hormone (GH). In the nervous system, pulsatility is observed in oscillatory activity from central pattern generators. In the heart, pacemakers are able to work and secrete in a pulsatile manner. A pulsatile secretion pattern is critical to the function of many hormones in order to maintain the delicate homeostatic balance necessary for essential life processes, such as development and reproduction. Variations of the concentration in a certain frequency can be critical to hormone function, as evidenced by the case of GnRH agonists, which cause functional inhibition of the receptor for GnRH due to profound downregulation in response to constant (tonic) stimulation. Pulsatility may function to sensitize target tissues to the hormone of interest and upregulate receptors, leading to improved responses. This heightened response may have served to improve the animal's fitness in its environment and promote its evolutionary retention.
3,5-Diiodothyronine (3,5-T2) is an active thyroid hormone within the class of iodothyronines. It has two iodine atoms at positions 3 and 5 of its inner ring.
SimThyr is a free continuous dynamic simulation program for the pituitary-thyroid feedback control system. The open-source program is based on a nonlinear model of thyroid homeostasis. In addition to simulations in the time domain the software supports various methods of sensitivity analysis. Its simulation engine is multi-threaded and supports multiple processor cores. SimThyr provides a GUI, which allows for visualising time series, modifying constant structure parameters of the feedback loop, storing parameter sets as XML files and exporting results of simulations in various formats that are suitable for statistical software. SimThyr is intended for both educational purposes and in-silico research.
The Thyrotroph Thyroid Hormone Sensitivity Index is a calculated structure parameter of thyroid homeostasis. It was originally developed to deliver a method for fast screening for resistance to thyroid hormone. Today it is also used to get an estimate for the set point of thyroid homeostasis, especially to assess dynamic thyrotropic adaptation of the anterior pituitary gland, including non-thyroidal illnesses.
The Thyroid Feedback Quantile-based Index (TFQI) is a calculated parameter for thyrotropic pituitary function. It was defined to be more robust to distorted data than established markers including Jostel's TSH index (JTI) and the thyrotroph thyroid hormone sensitivity index (TTSI).