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Biomedical subjects

R Hoffenberg

Publications and source records attributed to R Hoffenberg.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Serum thyroglobulin in thyroid cancer.

Serum thyroglobulin (Tg) was measured in 274 patients with differentiated thyroid cancer; 266 had previous thyroidectomy, which had been followed by ablative iodine-131 in 183 cases. Neither the presence nor the titre of anti-Tg antibodies appeared to affect Tg assays. Serum Tg reflected the presence or absence of cancer in 83% of 164 patients not receiving thyroxine (T4). This concordance improved to 97.5% in 158 patients tested while receiving T4. 34 patients in remission were tested both on and off T4 therapy; in all these patients the Tg level when receiving T4 was less than 5 micrograms/l. In 19 of 21 patients with cancer T4 treatment did not suppress Tg. Serum Tg thus provides an excellent marker for the presence or absence of thyroid cancer in patients taking T4, even if anti-Tg antibodies are present. It is proposed that monitoring of patients by assay of serum Tg should supplant routine assessment by radioactive-iodine scans of the neck or whole body.

Autoantibodies↗

Long-term evaluation of thyroidal response to partial calorie restriction in obesity.

Twenty obese patients were treated as out-patients with a 3.35 MJ (800 Kcal) per day diet, and, by the double-blind method, ten of the patients were prescribed 40 micrograms of triiodothyronine (T3) daily and the other ten placebo. Body weight and serum thyroxine (T4), T3 and reverse T3 (rT3) concentrations were measured before treatment, then monthly over 6 months. No significant difference in mean weight loss was found between the patients receiving T3 and those on placebo. Serum T3 concentration decreased slightly in patients on placebo and increased in those on T3 but these changes were not statistically significant. However, patients on T3 maintained a significantly higher concentration of T3 in serum than those on placebo. Mean serum T4 and rT3 concentrations remained essentially unchanged in the patients on placebo, whereas both decreased significantly in patients receiving T3. We conclude that changes in serum T3 during dietary treatment of obesity are of minor significance in limiting the expected weight loss in the patients.

Adult↗

The effect of calorie restriction on serum thyroid hormone binding proteins and free hormone in obese patients.

In ten obese euthyroid subjects the concentration of thyroxine (T4), tri-iodothyronine (T3) and reverse T3 (rT3) were assayed in serum and of T4 and T3 in urine before and after 2 weeks of 2.1 MJ (500 Kcal) per day diet. Mean serum T4 was unchanged, while T3 decreased and rT3 increased. Urinary excretion of both T4 and T3 decreased after diet. In six subjects the concentrations of serum thyroxine binding globulin (TBG), thyroxine binding prealbumin (TBPA) and albumin were measured before and after diet. Free T4 and T3 were calculated using a formula based on measured concentration of hormones and their binding proteins. Calorie restriction resulted in a significant decrease in TBG and a greater decrease in TBPA, while albumin was unchanged. Calculation of free hormones showed a fall in absolute free T3 and rise in percentage free T3, but a rise in both absolute and per cent free T4. Our data indicate a selective effect of calorie restriction on the concentrations of TBPA and to a lesser extent TBG and confirm previous reports of altered peripheral monodeiodination of T4. Decreased urinary excretion of T4, despite a calculated increase of free T4 in serum, suggests intrarenal metabolic adjustment, the mechanism of which awaits elucidation.

Adolescent↗

Hereditary abnormalities of thyroxine-binding globulin concentration. A study of 19 kindreds with inherited increase or decrease of thyroxine-binding globulin.

Nineteen families with hereditary abnormalities of thyroxine-binding globulin (TBG) have been studied, comprising a total of 15 males with absent TBG, and 15 females heterozygotic for this condition, and 14 males with excess of TBG and 44 heterozygotic females. Hereditary TBG excess was associated with thyrotoxicosis in four instances, and with myxoedema in three. The typical biochemical features of TBG abnormality are described, with the clinical histories of patients in whom diagnostic and management problems occurred.

Adult↗

Medical audits.

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Evaluation Studies as Topic↗

Serum thyroglobulin concentrations and whole-body radioiodine scan in follow-up of differentiated thyroid cancer after thyroid ablation.

Measurement of serum thyroglobulin (Tg) concentrations and whole-body radioiodine scan were performed simultaneously during follow-up of 32 patients with differentiated thyroid cancer who had undergone thyroid ablation by operation and radioiodine. Almost all patients in whom serum Tg was undetectable had normal scans. Concentrations exceeding 50 ng/ml were invariably associated with residual or metastatic tumour uptake in the scan. Out of 21 observations of detectable values below 50 ng/ml, 14 were in patients whose scans showed subclinical or sub-radiological tumour uptake and seven in patients with normal scans. The sensitivity of serum Tg as a tumour marker compared favourably to that of the whole-body scan. A scan is unnecessary when serum Tg is undetectable, but in patients with detectable serum Tg concentrations, particularly if these are below 50 ng/ml, a scan is important to assess and localise tumour uptake of iodine before advising treatmet with iodine-131.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Different measurements of thyroid function in hypothyroid infants diagnosed by screening.

Different measurements of thyroid function including I123 thyroid scanning were performed in 16 hypothyroid infants diagnosed by a TSH screening project. These results were then related to the clinical presentation and the bone age. Although T3 levels were preferentially maintained, it was the best single measure of the severity of hypothyroidism. Thyroglobulin may have a role in the diagnosis of athyrosis. Scanning showed that athyrosis was uncommon (12.5%) but an ectopic gland occurred in 40%, and accounts for many of the less severly affected cases found on screening. Some of these measurements may have prognostic significance.

Female↗

The role of thyronine in thyroid hormone metabolism.

Thryonine (T0) has been identified in human urine using gas chromatography-mass fragmentography (G.C.M.F.). In 22 normal individuals urinary T0 concentration was found to range between 8--25 nmol/24h. Assuming the mean normal thyroxine (T4) production rate to be approximately 100 nmol/24h, our findings indicate that less than 20% of this could be accounted for as urinary T0 excretion, thus supporting earlier findings that the peripheral metabolism of T4 is not limited solely to deiodination.

Chromatography, Gas↗

Effects of surgical stress and corticotrophin on the peripheral metabolism of thyroid hormones in rabbits.

The effect of surgical stress and ACTH injection on the peripheral monodeiodination of thyroxine (T4) was studied in the rabbit. These stimuli resulted in a switch from the peripheral formation of tri-iodothyronine (T3) to reverse T3 in normal rabbits and in rabbits whose thyroidal secretion was suppressed by administration of T4. This is analogous to the situation in man. These changes were not due to alterations in the serum binding capacity for thyroid hormones.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗

The inter-relationship of thyroid hormones, vitamin A and their binding proteins following acute stress.

The effects of surgical stress on the metabolism of the retinol-binding-protein-thyroxine-binding-prealbumin complex were investigated. The immediate postsurgical period was characterized by a rapid decline in the serum concentration of retinol, retinol binding protein and triiodothyronine and an increase in the 24 h urinary excretion of retinol, retinol-binding-protein and thyroxine. Similar, but less pronounced, changes were seen in other subjects suffering acute myocardial infarction but were not observed in normal healthy euthyroid males or in pre-operative euthyroid patients. The preparation of specific anti-retinol binding protein anti-serum and the use of this in 'monorocket' immunoelectrophoresis are also described.

Antibodies↗