Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0015672 (fatigue)
 51,768 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Some of the symptoms and signs of hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism in elderly patients may be mistakenly attributed to "old age." Weight loss, muscle weakness, tremor, angina, congestive heart failure--all signs of hyperthyroidism--are also concomitants of aging. Fatigue, sluggishness, withdrawal behavior, senile atrophic skin changes--all signs of hypothroidism--are also a part of the normal aging process. Although screening elderly people for thyroid disease is economically unsound, the physician should maintain a high index of suspicion of its presence. Laboratory tests must be interpreted with extra care. Values of 131I uptake, serum T4 and T3, thyroid-stimulating hormone, and thyrotropin-releasing hormone are all helpful in diagnosis. Thyroid disease is easily treated in elderly patients, and results often are dramatic. Propranolol is effective in thyrotoxic patients when symptoms require prompt relief. The definitive treatment, however, is 131I; antithyroid drugs are difficult to manage. Hypothyroidism is easily treated with T4.
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PMID:How thyroid disease presents in the elderly. 2 76

Among 49 consecutive patients with Parkinson's disease, 40% were depressed according to DSM-III; they had major depression or dysthymic disorder accompanied by sleep disturbance, fatigue, psychomotor retardation, loss of self-esteem, and excessive guilt. During a 10-day dopamine-free period, lumbar puncture was performed to measure the metabolites of dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine. Patients were given an overnight dexamethasone suppression test, and the effects of thyrotropin-releasing hormone and L-dopa on plasma growth hormone and prolactin were examined. Level of CSF 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid was lowest in parkinsonian patients with major depression and was related to psychomotor retardation and loss of self-esteem.
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PMID:Clinical and biochemical features of depression in Parkinson's disease. 242 23

In this study, 65 women and two men were examined because of symptoms suggesting hypothyroidism (eg, tiredness, lack of energy, weight gain, dry skin, cold intolerance, constipation, galactorrhea, menstrual disturbances). Some also demonstrated biochemical abnormalities (eg, hyperlipoproteinemia, elevation of creatine phosphokinase). Serum thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) and T3 uptake were normal in all patients. The thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) test differentiated the patients into two groups: Group 1 (47 patients) had an exaggerated response of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) to TRH; group 2 (20 patients) had a normal TSH response. Compared with group 2, the group 1 patients had a higher incidence of typical hypothyroid symptoms and goiter and responded more readily to levothyroxine therapy. We concluded that these patients had borderline hypothyroidism. Results of basal thyroid function tests may be within normal limits in such a condition. The TRH test, then, appears to increase diagnostic accuracy and should be routinely performed in patients who have symptoms suggesting hypothyroidism but normal results of basal thyroid function tests.
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PMID:How to detect hypothyroidism when screening tests are normal. Use of the TRH stimulation test. 641 Mar 62

The magnitude of the thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) response induced by thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) helps identify patients whose thyroid is failing. Many of these patients have been found to have Hashimoto's thyroiditis, symptomless autoimmune thyroiditis (SAT), and subclinical hypothyroidism. While patients with SAT are clinically euthyroid, what might be "symptomless" for the endocrinologist might be a syndrome presenting with psychiatric symptoms to the psychiatrist. As a preliminary test of this hypothesis, we tested 100 consecutive admissions to a psychiatric hospital who complained of depression or lack of energy. Fifteen (15%) of 100 patients were identified from the baseline thyroxin (T4), triiodothyronine (T3) resin uptake (RU), T3 radioimmunoassay (T3RIA), TSH, and TRH test who met criteria for either subclinical, mild, or overt hypothyroidism. Of these 15 patients, 9 (60%) had positive thyroid microsomal antibodies with titers of greater than or equal to 1:10. Our data suggest that SAT is not symptomless and may be an important diagnosis to consider in the evaluation of depressed, anergic, or atypical patients.
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PMID:"Symptomless" autoimmune thyroiditis in depression. 681 Apr 1

A 16-year-old depressed adolescent, who had received sertraline treatment for the previous 18 months, developed insomnia, daytime somnolence and lack of energy. His thyroid function tests revealed low levels of total T4 with normal levels of free T4 and TSH, and a normal thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) stimulation test. Discontinuing sertraline resulted in improved sleep and disappearance of daytime somnolence. Although daytime somnolence and low levels of total T4 can mimic hypothyroidism, in this case sertraline only displaced the bound-fraction of total T4 and was not associated with true hypothyroidism.
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PMID:Effects of long term treatment with sertraline (Zoloft) simulating hypothyroidism in an adolescent. 777 34

Recent media have highlighted the controversy surrounding treatment of elite athletes for hypothyroidism. The World Anti-Doping Agency denied a request by the United States Anti-Doping Agency to ban the use of thyroid medication. At present, there is no scientific evidence that thyroid medication has the potential to enhance performance. Clinical practice guidelines are not definitive in regard to what classifies a patient as having hypothyroidism. Thyroid-stimulating hormone and free T4 are recommended to screen for thyroid disease; however, the thyrotropin-releasing hormone stimulation test is still advocated by some for detecting the earliest stages of hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism has been demonstrated to reduce cardiopulmonary function and result in musculoskeletal symptoms, such as fatigue and muscle stiffness. Symptoms of hypothyroidism, including depression, fatigue, and impaired sleep, are similar to those reported in overtraining. These patients may have hypothalamic-pituitary dysfunction that may complicate interpretation of basal thyroid-stimulating hormone and free T4. To date, no association has been identified between training state and hypothyroidism. Research to more clearly define hypothyroidism using provocative testing, evaluate the potential for thyroid medication to enhance performance, and examine whether training may induce hypothyroidism in athletes is desirable.
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PMID:Thyroid Therapy or Dysfunction in Athletes: Is it Time to Revisit the Clinical Practice Guidelines? 3183 79