Blood Analysis Acronyms - TSH and You

Thyroid Stimulating Hormone

In our last article about blood test types and acronyms, we’ll be going over TSH and how it impacts you. Now that we’ve tackled both AST and MPV, it’s time to talk about one of the final important hormones/enzymes that impact you, specifically, the Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (otherwise known as TSH).

The thyroid is a very important organ, as it regulates growth and metabolism in the body by being an endocrine gland. The thyroid hormone produced by the thyroid gland plays a vital role in maintaining homeostasis through the cellular mechanisms and the actions of the growth stimuli in the cells. TSH however, functions to start up the production and proliferation of the thyroid hormone.

TSH and thyroid hormone level are closely related, and here are a few of the ways how:

1. High TSH, High Thyroid - Pituitary Tumor (Benign)

2. Low TSH, High Thyroid - Grave’s Disease or Hyperthyroidism

3. Low TSH, Low Thyroid - Hypopituitarism

4. High TSH, Low Thyroid - Hypothyroidism

As the TSH levels rise, it can indicate a serious problem in your thyroid gland. With a high TSH level, you’re likely to have hyperthyroidism or a tumor, or with a low TSH level, you’re likely to have hypothyroidism. Once again, hopefully I don’t need to remind you to keep consulting your doctor about treatment options and to confirm whether or not you require specific treatment for a certain thyroid condition.

Because the TSH levels are often a good indicator about the thyroid gland productivity levels, testing for them is vital to your health and should be done each and every time you have a routine blood examination. In order to detect whether or not that “cold” is really a “cold” and not thyroid disease or something to that effect, this test is the method of choice.

Sources

Thyroid Stimulating Hormone - TSH, Jaunary 27th, 2009

https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/thyroid-stimulating-hormone-tsh