Serum Thyroid-stimulating Hormone in Cerebrovascular Disease

ABSTRACT. A thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) test with serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) assays was performed in 22 euthyroid stroke patients without thyroid disease and the results were compared with those in 17 age-matched euthyroid controls. Basal and maximum TSH levels after TRH injeciton were significantly lower in the stroke group without elevation of basal serum thyroid hormone levels. There was a tendency towards an inverse relationship betweeen TSH levels and the degree of pareses of the extremities. The test was repeated in 7 stroke patients 3–4 months after the onset of stroke with essentially the same results. The abnormal TSH parameters in stroke patients seem to be the result of the brain lesion per se.