another study on bone density

[Mollyfan]

Please could I ask your opinion about this very recent study? I think it demonstrates that a higher T3/T4 ratio improves bone density in euthyroid adults, whereas high T4 reduces it……

Have I got that right?

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/367...

[diogenes Remembering]

This is a useful addition to the questioning about what are the thyroid function links to osteoporosis. It's clear that if older people not on therapy require an optimum conversion of T4 to T3, then it is obvious that a higher FT3/FT4 ratio will reduce the risk of osteoporosis. Because of T3's greater influence on TSH (compared with T4, molecule per molecule) then one would expect TSH (as an index here) to reduce, the higher the FT3/FT4 ratio. That higher FT4 is also a factor is interesting. If we extrapolate to those on therapy, there is no reason to think that anything different applies. Thus, if you are without any thyroid and a poor converter, on T4 only, your FT3/FT4 ratio will be low. Raising T4 might not help, if no more conversion can occur in the body. So, from this evidence, adding some T3 to therapy will raise your ratio and reduce osteoporosis probability. And because the TSHindex will fall at the same time, this works in the same direction. The study questions the idea that on therapy, a low TSH is detrimental. It's the available FT3 that is important.

[Mollyfan in reply to diogenes]

Thank you! That is how I read it, but thought I was robably wrong. It makes sense to me and I think there seems to be uncreasing evidence that T3/4 ratio is perhaps more important than absolute levels?

[tattybogle in reply to Mollyfan]

You may find this interesting if you haven't seen it before.

6 out of 10 people in this sample of healthy folk (aged 19-27) not taking thyroid hormone ... have their fT3 a tad higher than their fT4

10 healthy (young )people... fT4, fT3 &TSH taken over 6 weeks

[Mollyfan in reply to tattybogle]

Thanks…. That’s really interesting…. And only one of them had a fT4 significantly higher than fT3.

Interesting that people on T4 only are expected to have ratios so far away from the “normal”

[tattybogle in reply to Mollyfan]

also makes a mockery of the argument that patients shouldn't be prescribed NDT because it "has an unphysiological ratio of T3/4 for humans" ..... while they happily prescribe levo which gives an equally unphysiological ratio of T4 / T3 and then wonder why some of us don't get better ...... Duh !

[tattybogle]

Very interesting find Mollyfan.. i've added it to my post of 'useful stuff for reference' here : healthunlocked.com/thyroidu....