Changes in the pituitary-thyroid axis accompanying major affective disorders.

The reports tries to show the intercorrelations between the TRH-test and the peripheric thyroid function during the course of affective disorders. The sample comprised 22 manic (15 follow-up) and 24 depressive (13 follow-up) patients. As parameters serum thyroxine, triiodothyronine, T3-uptake, FT4-index, T3/T4-ratio, TSH basal and 30 min after 200 micrograms TRH i.v. were determined. In a smaller group of patients reverse-T3 was measured, too. During acute mania and depression there is an increase of thyroxine. We observed a stronger conversion of T4 to rT3 with less inactivation of T4 to T3 in mania than in depression. Both groups show attenuated TSH response to TRH stimulation in florid psychoses. Comprehensing all results we come to the conclusion that the changes in the pituitary-thyroid axis accompanying affective psychoses start from the thyroidea and not from the anterior pituitary gland.