Is it possible to measure bioactivity of TSH or would it be too complicated/expensive?

[Justiina]

Just wondering as in Sheehan syndrome they have been able to measure the difference if I understood it correct.

Measuring bioactivity could possibly help with diagnosis as it could rule out for example NTI?

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

[jimh111]

I can't answer the technical question. However, you can get an idea from your fT3 and fT4 compared to TSH - provided you are not on T3 medication which would confuse the issue.

[Justiina in reply to jimh111]

I was thinking about as if it were possible it would make it generally easier to separate NTI from true hypo for example as that TSH test is so loved by doctors

[diogenes Remembering]

A slow and expensive procedure only useful in special circumstances and not suitable for mass measurements.

[Justiina in reply to diogenes]

Thanks. I was afraid it would be expensive and inconvenient method.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

That is one excellent paper. Asks all the questions that have been whirling round my head - and then some.

Now I have a headache coming on! It is written pretty well but still needs more than one read.

[Justiina in reply to helvella]

I have been googling a lot and run into these studies. This one I found through one study evaluating thyroid levels of mentally ill patients.

In that long article it was pointed out that in endocrinology there is knowledge of the TSH reference range being twice as wide as individual variability of TSH in health , but it's neglected.

Bioactivity of TSH was mentioned and quoted.

Was relatively interesting article even though it was about mental illnesses, but covered a lot of thyroid related information.

[PR4NOW in reply to Justiina]

Justiina, what you are referring to is that all the thyroid functions tests suffer from 'a low index of individuality'. The first study that I am aware of on this subject is from 1980 and the most quoted is probably Dr Stig Anderson's 2002 study . PR

academic.oup.com/jcem/artic...

Do you have a link for the one on mental illness?