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Hepatic Thyroid Hormone Levels Following Chronic Alcohol Consumption: Direct Experimental Evidence in Rats Against the Existence of a Hyperthyroid Hepatic State
Rolf Teschke,
Fernando Moreno,
Edgar Heinen,
Jorg Herrmann,
Hans-Ludwig Kruskemper,
Georg Strohmeyer,
Corresponding Author
Rolf Teschke
Medical Departments D and C of the University of Diisseldorf, Diisseldorf, West Germany
Rolf Teschke, M.D., Medizinische Kli- nik D der Universitat Dusseldorf, Moorenstrasse 5, D-4000 Dusseldorf, West Germany.===Search for more papers by this authorFernando Moreno
Medical Departments D and C of the University of Diisseldorf, Diisseldorf, West Germany
Dr. Moreno is the recipient of a fellowship from the Heinrich-Hertz Foundation, Dusseldorf, West Germany
Search for more papers by this authorEdgar Heinen
Medical Departments D and C of the University of Diisseldorf, Diisseldorf, West Germany
Search for more papers by this authorJorg Herrmann
Medical Departments D and C of the University of Diisseldorf, Diisseldorf, West Germany
Search for more papers by this authorHans-Ludwig Kruskemper
Medical Departments D and C of the University of Diisseldorf, Diisseldorf, West Germany
Search for more papers by this authorGeorg Strohmeyer
Medical Departments D and C of the University of Diisseldorf, Diisseldorf, West Germany
Search for more papers by this authorRolf Teschke,
Fernando Moreno,
Edgar Heinen,
Jorg Herrmann,
Hans-Ludwig Kruskemper,
Georg Strohmeyer,
Corresponding Author
Rolf Teschke
Medical Departments D and C of the University of Diisseldorf, Diisseldorf, West Germany
Rolf Teschke, M.D., Medizinische Kli- nik D der Universitat Dusseldorf, Moorenstrasse 5, D-4000 Dusseldorf, West Germany.===Search for more papers by this authorFernando Moreno
Medical Departments D and C of the University of Diisseldorf, Diisseldorf, West Germany
Dr. Moreno is the recipient of a fellowship from the Heinrich-Hertz Foundation, Dusseldorf, West Germany
Search for more papers by this authorEdgar Heinen
Medical Departments D and C of the University of Diisseldorf, Diisseldorf, West Germany
Search for more papers by this authorJorg Herrmann
Medical Departments D and C of the University of Diisseldorf, Diisseldorf, West Germany
Search for more papers by this authorHans-Ludwig Kruskemper
Medical Departments D and C of the University of Diisseldorf, Diisseldorf, West Germany
Search for more papers by this authorGeorg Strohmeyer
Medical Departments D and C of the University of Diisseldorf, Diisseldorf, West Germany
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
To study the effect of chronic alcohol consumption on hepatic levels of thyroid hormones, female Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 24) were pair-fed nutritionally adequate liquid diets containing either ethanol (36% of total calories) or isocaloric carbohydrates for 21 days. Compared to controls, chronic alcohol consumption failed to result in a significant change of hepatic thyroid hormone levels (thyroxine: 14.7 ± 1.81 ng per gm of liver wet weight vs. 15.0 ± 1.59; triiodothyronine: 2.60 ± 0.16 ng per gm of liver wet weight vs. 2.66 ± 0.18). Similar results were obtained when the hepatic levels of thyroid hormones were expressed per total liver, per gram of liver protein or per 100 gm of body weight. Moreover, prolonged alcohol ingestion led to a significant reduction of serum total thyroxine by 31.6% (p ± 0.001), free thyroxine by 38.9% (p ± 0.02), total triiodothyronine by 40.2% (p ± 0.001) and free triiodothyronine by 56.1% (p ± 0.001) when compared to their pair-fed controls, whereas thyroid-stimulating hormone levels remained virtually unchanged. These data, therefore, clearly show that chronic alcohol consumption is incapable of creating a hyperthyroid hepatic state in rats, and limit the rationale for antithyroid treatment in patients with alcoholic liver disease.
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