Studies of peripheral thyroxine distribution in thyrotoxicosis and hypothyroidism

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Abstract

Compartmental analysis of the peripheral distribution of labeled thyroxine was applied to various groups of subjects with thyrotoxicosis and hypothyroidism. It was observed that the hepatic incorporation of thyroxine was augmented in subjects with Graves' disease when compared to non-Graves' disease control groups at all levels of thyroid function. Decreased values of hepatic incorporation occurred in primary hypothyroid subjects. These lowered values were not acutely corrected by elevation of the serum thyroxine level, but were observed to be rectified after several months' therapy with exogenous thyroid hormone. These alterations of the hepatic thyroxine-131I incorporation were independently verified by direct quantitative liver scintiscan determinations.

Authors

John T. Nicoloff, J. Thomas Dowling