Triiodothyronine accelerates and enhances the antipsychotic effect of risperidone in acute schizophrenia

In acute psychotic schizophrenia patients we investigated if the combination of triiodothyronine (T3) plus risperidone was more effective when compared to risperidone monotherapy. Thirty-two in-patients meeting the DSM-IV-TR diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia and without thyroid disease received risperidone (flexibly adjusted dose for tolerability) and were randomized to additionally receive either T3 (25 μg daily; risperidone plus T3 group) or placebo (risperidone plus placebo group). Treatment lasted until meeting the response to treatment criteria defined as score of ≤3 on the Clinical Global Impression Severity and Improvement scales. Acute psychotic episode symptom severity was evaluated using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) at treatment initiation and at the final study assessment. Fourteen patients were randomized to receive risperidone plus T3 and eighteen to receive risperidone plus placebo. The time until treatment response was shorter in the risperidone plus T3 group relative to the risperidone plus placebo group (25.5 ± 4.4 days vs 32.2 ± 8.2 days, respectively; p = 0.001). Moreover, there was a greater reduction of BPRS-total score (p = 0.01) in the risperidone plus T3 group relative to the risperidone plus placebo group. Treatment with T3 was associated with shorter time to treatment response (β = −0.440, p = 0.022) and with greater improvement in BPRS score (β = 0.240, p = 0.053), independent of patients' gender, age, baseline BPRS score and mean risperidone dose. The study confirms that addition of T3 to risperidone was associated with accelerated and enhanced treatment response in acutely psychotic schizophrenic patients.     

Reference intervals for free thyroxine, total triiodothyronine, thyrotropin and thyroglobulin for Quebec newborns, children and teenagers

OBJECTIVE: Paediatric reference values, although essential for interpreting patients' results, are scarce. Moreover, they are often population- and instrument-dependent. We have measured free thyroxine (Free T(4)), total triiodothyronine (Total T(3)), thyroglobulin (Tg) and thyrotropin (TSH) in samples obtained from groups of newborns, children and adolescents. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Blood samples collected from healthy children and teenagers (100 girls and 100 boys) of age groups ranging between 9-10, 11-14 and 15-17 years and selected randomly from a cohort representative of the Quebec population, were used. Samples from infants of age ranging between 1 day and 2 years (n = 99) were obtained from a hospital-based population with benign conditions unlikely to affect thyroid function. Variables were measured on the Access 2 immunosystem. RESULTS: Free T(4), Tg and TSH levels declined significantly with age. However, Total T(3) level presented a nonlinear variation with age, being lower in the first month of life.     

Hormonal correlations at transition from reproduction to molting in an annual life cycle of Humboldt penguins (Spheniscus humboldti)

To understand the hormonal mechanism behind a unique strategy of breeding and molting in Humboldt penguins, six pairs of captive Humboldt penguins kept in an outdoor open display pen were observed and blood collected weekly for a year. They all molted between the middle of June and the middle of August within 10 days except one pair that molted about a month later. The late pair had been rearing a hatchling until July due to the successful second clutch after the first clutch failed. A peak of plasma levels of thyroxine and triiodothyronine, respectively, overlapped a period of molting in both sexes. Plasma testosterone concentrations in the males and females were lowest for two month during a period of pre-molt and molting. Plasma concentrations of estradiol were also lowest during the molt in both sexes. Except for the period of molting, sex steroid hormone concentrations were high although there was great individual variation. During the molt, the birds were forced to fast since they did not enter the pool in the display pen where they usually forage live fish. To compensate this forced fasting, they took more food than usual during pre-molting period and gained body mass to about 20% more than the baseline value. Increased flipper thickness was parallel to increased body mass indicating that the gained body mass attributed to fat reservoir. These data indicate that rapid molting in Humboldt penguins is correlated with a drastic increase and decrease of thyroid hormones during the period of lowest concentrations in sex steroid hormones.     

Relationship between β-amyloid protein 1-42, thyroid hormone levels and the risk of cognitive impairment after ischemic stroke

BACKGROUND Post-stroke cognitive impairment(PSCI)is not only a common consequence of stroke but also an important factor for adverse prognosis of patients.Biochemical indicators such as blood lipids and blood pressure are affected by many factors,and the ability of evaluating the progress of patients with PSCI is insufficient.Therefore,it is necessary to find sensitive markers for predicting the progress of patients and avoiding PSCI.Recent studies have shown thatβ-amyloid protein 1-42(Aβ1-42)and thyroid hormone levels are closely related to PSCI,which may be the influencing factors of PSCI,but there are few related studies.AIM To investigate the relationship between serum levels of Aβand thyroid hormones in acute stage and PSCI and its predicted value.METHODS A total of 195 patients with acute cerebral infarction confirmed from June 2016 to January 2018 were enrolled in this study.Baseline data and serological indicators were recorded to assess cognitive function of patients.All patients were followed up for 1 year.Their cognitive functions were evaluated within 1 wk,3 mo,6 mo and 1 yr after stroke.At the end of follow-up,the patients were divided into PSCI and non-PSCI according to Montreal cognitive assessment score,and the relationship between biochemical indexes and the progression of PSCI was explored.RESULTS Compared with patients with non-PSCI,the levels of Aβ1-42,triiodothyronine(T3)and free thyroxin were lower in the patients with PSCI.Repeated measures analysis of variance showed that the overall content of Aβ1-42 and T3 in PSCI was also lower than that of the non-PSCI patients.Further analysis revealed that Aβ1-42(r=0.348),T3(r=0.273)and free thyroxin(r=0.214)were positively correlated with disease progression(P<0.05),suggesting that these indicators have the potential to predict disease progression and outcome.Cox regression analysis showed that Aβ1-42 and T3 were important factors of PSCI.Then stratified analysis showed that the lower the Aβ1-42 and T3,the higher risk of PSCI in patients who were aged over 70,female and illiterate.CONCLUSION Aβ1-42 and T3 have the ability to predict the progression of PSCI,which is expected to be applied clinically to reduce the incidence of PSCI and improve the quality of life of patients.     

血清游离三甲碘状腺原氨酸水平预测HBV相关慢加急性肝衰竭患者预后的价值分析

目的探讨血清游离三甲碘状腺原氨酸（FT3）水平对HBV相关慢加急性肝衰竭（HBV-ACLF）患者90 d预后的预测价值。方法收集2018年9月—2020年1月在首都医科大学附属北京佑安医院住院的122例HBV-ACLF患者的临床资料,根据确诊后90 d预后分为生存组（n=77）和死亡组（n=45）。采用ELISA法测定血清FT3水平,比较FT3水平在两组间差异,应用logistic回归分析探索影响预后的危险因素并建立FT3相关预测模型,采用预测概率值的ROC曲线下面积（AUC）评估预测模型的区分度,采用线性回归分析评估校准度。采用AUC比较模型与MELD评分预测预后价值的差异。符合正态分布的计量资料两组间比较采用t检验;非正态分布的计量资料两组间比较采用Mann-Whitney U检验;计数资料两组间比较采用χ²检验;采用logistic回归分析预后影响因素。结果死亡组FT3显著低于生存组[（2.27±0.38） pmol/L vs （2.69±0.55） pmol/L,t=4.526,P<0.001],FT3（OR=0.534,95%CI:0.300～0....     

甲状腺激素与癌症的相关性研究进展

肿瘤患者甲状腺激素(T3)的代谢会产生异常,在肿瘤浸润深、淋巴结受累多、分期晚、病情重的患者中T3会显著下降。同时肿瘤的治疗(手术、放疗、化疗、靶向治疗、免疫治疗)也会造成T3下降。肿瘤患者T3的改变可以作为判断病情及临床分期、监测疗效、维护生活质量的参考指标,受到临床医生越来越多的关注。     

妊娠期单纯低甲状腺素血症的危险因素和对母婴结局的影响

妊娠期单纯低甲状腺素血症又称妊娠期低甲状腺素(thyroxine,T4)血症,是指妊娠妇女甲状腺自身抗体阴性、血清促甲状腺激素(thyroid stimulating hormone,TSH)水平正常但血清游离甲状腺素(free thyroxine,FT4)水平低于妊娠期特异性参考范围下限.目前,妊娠期低T4血症的病因...     

Relationship between triiodothyronine and proinflammatory cytokines in chronic heart failure

Cytokines and thyroid hormones are involved in the biochemical changes associated to heart failure (HF).     

Localization of thyroid hormone receptor β2 in the ventral medullary neurons that synthesize thyrotropin-releasing hormone

Altered thyroid statuses are associated with autonomic disorders. Thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) synthesized in medullary raphe pallidus (Rpa), raphe obscurus (Rob) and the parapyramidal regions (PPR) regulates vagal and sympathetic preganglionic motoneurons. Hypothyroidism increased TRH gene expression and c-Fos immunoreactivity (IR) in these nuclei. Whether these increases represent a direct action of thyroid hormone was studied by detecting the presence of thyroid hormone receptor β2 (TRβ2) in pro-TRH-synthesizing neurons in the Rpa, Rob and the PPR using immunohistochemistry with specific TRβ2 antiserum and in situ hybridization with digoxigenin-labeled pro-TRH cRNA probe. TRβ2 IR was widely distributed throughout the medulla and primarily localized within the cell nuclei. Particularly intense immunostaining was presented in the Rpa, Rob and the PPR neurons. The combination of immunohistochemistry with in situ hybridization revealed that all pro-TRH mRNA-positive neurons in these ventral medullary nuclei were also TRβ2 IR positive. The numbers of TRβ2 IR-positive neurons in each nucleus were identical in both euthyroid rats and hypothyroid rats induced by 6-n-propyl-2-thiouracil in drinking water for 4 weeks. The finding that TRβ2 localized in pro-TRH-synthesizing neurons in the ventral medullary nuclei provides an anatomical substrate for a direct thyroid hormone action on these neurons in the regulation of TRH gene expression, which may contribute to the altered autonomic activity in different thyroid statuses.     

Effects of triiodothyronine on the development of GFAP-immunoreactivity and cat-activity in monolayer cultures of embryonal rat forebrain cells

Dose-dependent actions of triiodothyronine were studied in serum-containing primary cultures of embryonal rat forebrain cells. Triiodothyronine at concentrations exceeding the normal medium concentration by 2 and 5 nM failed to cause significant changes in the development of CAT-activity and GFAP-immunoreactivity. In the presence of additional 10 and 20 nM T₃, however, CAT-activity was increased and GFAP-immunoreactivity was decreased in comparison to cultures maintained with ‘normal’ (10% FCS-containing) media.