Open AccessThyroid Hormone Activates Brown Adipose Tissue and Increases Non-Shivering Thermogenesis - A Cohort Study in a Group of Thyroid Carcinoma Patients
Author(s) -
Evie P. M. Broeders,
Guy H.E.J. Vijgen,
Bas Havekes,
Nicole D. Bouvy,
Felix M. Mottaghy,
Marleen Kars,
Nicolaas C. Schaper,
Patrick Schrauwen,
Boudewijn Brans,
Wouter D. van Marken Lichtenbelt
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0145049
Subject(s) - medicine , endocrinology , thyroid , brown adipose tissue , thermogenesis , levothyroxine , hormone , thyroid cancer , thyroid carcinoma , subclinical infection , thyroid hormone receptor , adipose tissue
Background/Objectives Thyroid hormone receptors are present on brown adipose tissue (BAT), indicating a role for thyroid hormone in the regulation of BAT activation. The objective of this study was to examine the effect of thyroid hormone withdrawal followed by thyroid hormone in TSH-suppressive dosages, on energy expenditure and brown adipose tissue activity. Subjects/Methods This study was a longitudinal study in an academic center, with a follow-up period of 6 months. Ten patients with well-differentiated thyroid carcinoma eligible for surgical treatment and subsequent radioactive iodine ablation therapy were studied in a hypothyroid state after thyroidectomy and in a subclinical hyperthyroid state (TSH-suppression according to treatment protocol). Paired two-tailed t-tests and linear regression analyses were used. Results Basal metabolic rate (BMR) was significantly higher after treatment with synthetic thyroid hormone (levothyroxine) than in the hypothyroid state (BMR 3.8 ± 0.5 kJ/min versus 4.4 ± 0.6 kJ/min, P = 0.012), and non-shivering thermogenesis (NST) significantly increased from 15 ± 10% to 25 ± 6% ( P = 0.009). Mean BAT activity was significantly higher in the subclinical hyperthyroid state than in the hypothyroid state (BAT standard uptake value (SUV Mean ) 4.0 ± 2.9 versus 2.4 ± 1.8, P = 0.039). Conclusions Our study shows that higher levels of thyroid hormone are associated with a higher level of cold-activated BAT. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02499471