Bile acid metabolism in human hyperthyroidism

✍ Scribed by Jürgen Pauletzki; Frans Stellaard; Gustav Paumgartner

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1989
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 422 KB
• Volume: 9
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0270-9139
• DOI: 10.1002/hep.1840090610

✦ Synopsis

Federal Republic of Germany Decreased levels of serum cholesterol are a well-recognized finding in hyperthyroidism. Since the conversion to bile acids is an important pathway for the elimination of cholesterol, we studied primary bile acid kinetics in seven hyperthyroid patients before and after medical treatment. Pool sizes, fractional turnover and synthesis rates of cholic acid and chenodeoxycholic acid were determined after oral administration of 50 mg [13C]cholic acid and 50 mg [13C]chenodeoxycholic acid. 13C/12C isotope ratios in serum were measured by capillary gas chromatography/electron impact mass spectrometry.

Compared with the euthyroid state, serum cholesterol levels were distinctly lower in hyperthyroidism (150 f 33 vs. 261 f 51 mg per dl, p < 0.01). Thyroid hormone excess caused a 34% reduction in cholic acid synthesis (5.8 f 2.8 vs. 7.9 f 4.2 pmoles per kg per day, p < 0.02), which was associated with a 47% decrease in cholic acid pool size (11.7 f 3.4 vs. 22.0 f 5.2 jimoles per kg, p <