Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: The effects of mild subclinical hypothyroidism (SH; TSH <10 mU/l) on metabolic outcomes are unclear. This may relate to differences in aetiology, including thyroid autoimmunity or genetic factors such as TSH-receptor mutations (TSHR-M) and FOXE1 polyalanine tract length (FOXE1–PTL) polymorphisms, which are associated with altered thyroid function. We hypothesised that the metabolic manifestations of SH may depend upon its aetiology.<p class="abstext"...

The role of the thyrotropin receptor (TSHR) in bone is unclear. TSHR-deficient mice have low bone mineral density (BMD) and focal osteosclerosis despite normal thyroid hormones (suggesting TSHR function, in bone, is important). Subclinical hypothyroidism (SH) has various aetiologies including thyroid autoimmunity (TA) and inactivating TSHR mutations (TSHR-M). In TSHR-deficiency & TSH-M elevated TSH compensates for reduced TSHR function, whereas in TA it compensates for red...