thyroid tests

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THYROID TESTS

Blood tests to measure these hormones are readily available and widely used, but not all are useful in all situations. Tests to evaluate thyroid function include the following:

TSH TESTS
The best way to initially test thyroid function is to measure the TSH level in a blood sample. Changes in TSH can serve as an “early warning system” – often occurring before the actual level of thyroid hormones in the body becomes too high or too low. A high TSH level indicates that the thyroid gland is not making enough thyroid hormone (primary hypothyroidism).

T4 TESTS
T4 is the main form of thyroid hormone circulating in the blood. A Total T4 measures the bound and free hormone and can change when binding proteins differ (see above). A Free T4 measures what is not bound and able to enter and affect the body tissues. Tests measuring free T4 – either a free T4 (FT4) or free T4 index (FTI) – more accurately reflect how the thyroid gland is functioning when checked with a TSH.

T3 TESTS
T3 tests are often useful to diagnosis hyperthyroidism or to determine the severity of the hyperthyroidism. Patients who are hyperthyroid will have an elevated T3 level. In some individuals with a low TSH, only the T3 is elevated and the FT4 or FTI is normal. T3 testing rarely is helpful in the hypothyroid patient, since it is the last test to become abnormal. Patients can be severely hypothyroid with a high TSH and low FT4 or FTI, but have a normal T3.

FREE T3
Measurement of free T3 is possible, but is often not reliable and therefore not typically helpful.

REVERSE T3
Reverse T3 is a biologically inactive protein that is structurally very similar to T3, but the iodine atoms are placed in different locations, which make it inactive. Some reverse T3 is produced normally in the body, but is then rapidly degraded. In healthy, non-hospitalized people, measurement of reverse T3 does not help determine whether hypothyroidism exists or not, and is not clinically useful.

THYROID ANTIBODY TESTS

The immune system of the body normally protects us from foreign invaders such as bacteria and viruses by destroying these invaders with substances called antibodies produced by blood cells known as lymphocytes. In many patients with hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism, lymphocytes react against the thyroid (thyroid autoimmunity) and make antibodies against thyroid cell proteins. Two common antibodies are thyroid peroxidase antibody and thyroglobulin antibody.

Journal of Thyroid Disorders and Therapy is an open access peer reviewed journal within the field of medical sciences which publishes the eminent research in all the fields of medical and health sciences.

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Media Contact:

Denise Williams
Journal Manager
Journal of Thyroid Disorders & Therapy
Email: thyroid@endocrinologyjournals.com