A patient comes into the clinic complaining about increasing feelings of nervous

Question

A patient comes into the clinic complaining about increasing feelings of nervousness and intolerance to the heat. At examination you note that she has an increased heart rate and that she has lost a significant amount of weight since her last appointment. Your clinical findings and the patients history indicate that she may be suffering from a hyperthyroidism (she is producing too much Thyroid hormone). In order to confirm this you order a blood test to measure her hormone levels. The results show elevated levels of Thyroid hormone (TH) and decreased levels of Thyroid Releasing hormone (TRH) and Thyroid Stimulating hormone (TSH). On the following hypothalamic-pituitary axis indicate where the problem is originating from: be sure to label the tropic hormones and/or hormones that come from each region? Is this a primary or secondary endocrine disorder? Why are the blood levels of TSH and TRH low? If you compare the weight of the anterior pituitary of this patient, to that of a normal pituitary would it be larger or smaller? Why?

Explanation / Answer

Ventral hypothalamus: TRH

Anterior pituitary: TSH

Target gland (thyroid gland): Thyroid hormone (TH)

It is a primary endocrine disorder, as the disorder is linked to the organ producing the final form of the enzyme, not the glands responsible for tropic simulation.

Blood levels of TRH and TSH are low due to negative feedback caused due to the high level of thyroid in the blood.

The weight will be smaller, as the parts of the glands responsible for producing and releasing TSH gets atrophied.

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