Publications by authors named "Hans Van Toor"

Context: Measurements of thyroglobulin (Tg) and Tg antibodies are crucial in the follow-up of treated differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) patients. Interassay differences may significantly impact follow-up.

Objective: The aim of this multicenter study was to explore the impact of Tg and Tg antibody assay performance on the differential classification of DTC patients, as described in national and international guidelines.

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  • * A study evaluated the long-term effects of the T3 analogue Triac on 67 MCT8-deficient patients over a median period of 2.2 years, showing significant reductions in serum T3 levels and improvements in body weight, heart rate, and certain biochemical markers.
  • * The results indicate that Triac effectively reduced key symptoms in MCT8 deficiency without severe adverse events, demonstrating its potential as a treatment option in this patient population.
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DNA damage contributes to the process of aging, as underscored by premature aging syndromes caused by defective DNA repair. Thyroid state changes during aging, but underlying mechanisms remain elusive. Since thyroid hormone (TH) is a key regulator of metabolism, changes in TH signaling have widespread effects.

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Objective: Monocarboxylate transporter 8 (MCT8) is an essential thyroid hormone (TH) transporter as humans with MCT8 mutations have severe neurological and endocrine abnormalities. The objectives are (i) to identify novel MCT8 mutations and (ii) to assess their functional relevance; (iii) to describe the effects of block-and-replace treatment in an MCT8 patient.

Design: The TOP-R study is a cross-sectional nation-wide multicentre study.

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Context: Age-appropriate reference ranges for thyroid hormones are required for detecting pediatric thyroid dysfunction. Data on thyroid hormones and peripheral thyroid metabolism in short children born small for gestational age (SGA) before and during GH treatment are lacking.

Objectives: Our objectives were to obtain pediatric thyroid hormone reference ranges; to investigate thyroid hormones in short SGA children before puberty, during puberty, and during postponement of puberty by GnRH analog; and to evaluate thyroid hormones during GH treatment.

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Objective: Abnormalities in thyroid state may affect development and function of the brain and result in mental retardation (MR). Thyroid parameters have not been systematically investigated in institutionalized MR subjects. The objective is to measure thyroid parameters in a novel cohort of 946 institutionalized subjects.

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DEHAL1 has been identified as the gene encoding iodotyrosine deiodinase in the thyroid, where it controls the reuse of iodide for thyroid hormone synthesis. We screened patients with hypothyroidism who had features suggestive of an iodotyrosine deiodinase defect for mutations in DEHAL1. Two missense mutations and a deletion of three base pairs were identified in four patients from three unrelated families; all the patients had a dramatic reduction of in vitro activity of iodotyrosine deiodinase.

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Context: Novel criteria for decrease of perioperative parathyroid hormone measurement may improve the accuracy of perioperative quick parathyroid hormone (qPTH)-guided parathyroidectomy.

Objective: To assess overall cure rate based on conventional criteria (50% decline of qPTH). Perioperative qPTH levels were evaluated to determine novel criteria for successful parathyroid surgery.

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Article Synopsis
  • Variations in thyroid function, including the TSHR-Asp727Glu polymorphism, are linked to metabolic differences, particularly in insulin resistance among elderly men.
  • The study focused on analyzing thyroid parameters and how they relate to glucose metabolism, using data from 349 elderly men.
  • Findings revealed that certain genetic factors, particularly the TSHR-Glu727 variant, are associated with higher glucose and insulin levels, indicating a potential genetic influence on insulin resistance and glucose metabolism.
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Introduction: Marked changes in peripheral thyroid hormone metabolism occur in critical illness, resulting in low serum T3 and high rT3 levels. In this study, we investigated whether T4S levels are increased in patients who died after intensive care and whether T4S levels are correlated with liver type I deiodinase (D1) or sulfotransferase (SULT) activity.

Methods: A total of 64 blood samples and 65 liver biopsies were obtained within minutes after death from 79 intensive care patients, randomized for intensive or conventional insulin treatment.

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Context: Pronounced alterations in serum thyroid hormone levels occur during critical illness. T3 decreases and rT3 increases, the magnitudes of which are related to the severity of disease. It is unclear whether these changes are associated with decreased tissue T3 concentrations and, thus, reduced thyroid hormone bioactivity.

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Context: Transient hypothyroxinemia is common in infants less than 30 wk gestation and is associated with neurodevelopmental deficits. Reductions in T4 and T3 levels with TSH unchanged are the key features of severe illness using surrogate indices of overall severity of illness, but these do not inform the impact of individual disease conditions or drug use.

Objective: Our objective was to investigate the contribution of postnatal factors to the variations in serum levels of iodothyronines, thyroid-binding globulin, and TSH.

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Context: Transient hypothyroxinemia is common in infants less than 30 wk gestation and is associated with neurodevelopmental deficits; it has no consensus definition. We previously suggested that appropriate ranges for postnatal serum T4 values are at least cord levels corrected to an equivalent gestational age if the fetuses had remained in utero.

Objective: The study objective is to investigate the contribution of prenatal and intrapartum factors (n = 27) to the variations in cord levels of iodothyronines, T4-binding globulin, and TSH, and to provide an appropriate definition of transient hypothyroxinemia.

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Introduction And Methods: Critical illness is associated with reduced TSH and thyroid hormone secretion, and with changes in peripheral thyroid hormone metabolism, resulting in low serum T3 and high rT3. In 451 critically ill patients who received intensive care for more than 5 d, serum thyroid parameters were determined on d 1, 5, 15, and last day (LD). All patients had been randomized for intensive or conventional insulin treatment.

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Type II deiodinase (D2) is important in the regulation of local thyroid hormone bioactivity in certain tissues. D2 in skeletal muscle may also play a role in serum triiodothyronine (T(3)) production. In this study, we identified a polymorphism in the 5'-UTR of the D2 gene (D2-ORFa-Gly3Asp).

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The purpose of this study was to relate severity of illness at 1, 7, 14, and 28 postnatal days in preterm infants groups, 23-27 (n = 73), 28-30 (n = 160), and 31-34 (n = 208) wk gestation, to the corresponding sera levels of T(4), free T(4), T(4)-binding globulin, TSH, T(3), rT(3), and T(4) sulfate. The British Association of Perinatal Medicine and Neonatal Nurses Association 1992 scoring categories (published elsewhere) were used as an index of illness severity: level 1 (maximal intensive care) was compared with level 2 (high-dependency intensive care) combined with level 3 (special care); infants were scored on 1, 7, 14, and 28 postnatal days. In level 1 infants, there were significant reductions in T(3) at 7 d (28-30 wk), 14, and 28 d (23-27 and 28-30 wk); T(4) at 7, 14, and 28 d (23-27 wk); at 14 and 28 d (28-30 wk); and at 7 d (31-34 wk); and free T(4) at 14 d (23-27 wk).

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The purpose of this study was first to clarify postnatal trends in sera T(4), free T(4) (FT(4)), T(4)-binding globulin, TSH, T(3), rT(3), and T(4) sulfate levels in cord and at 7, 14, and 28 d in groups of preterm infants at 23-27 wk (n = 101), 28-30 wk (n = 196), and 31-34 (n = 253) wk gestation, and second to compare these trends to those of term infants and also with cord sera levels of equivalent gestational ages (n = 812; 23-42 wk gestation). In all preterm groups, TSH and rT(3) decrease to below, T(4)-binding globulin increases to within, and T(3) and T(4) sulfate increase to above cord levels of equivalent gestational age. Term infants are hyperthyroxinemic relative to cord and nonpregnant adult levels of T(4).

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The interaction between the GH-IGF-I axis and thyroid hormone metabolism is complex and not fully understood. T(4) stimulates IGF-I activity in animals in the absence of GH. On the other hand, GH replacement therapy results in an increase in serum T(3) and a decrease in T(4) and rT(3) levels, suggesting a stimulation of type I deiodinase (D1) activity.

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Thyroid hormone is essential for fetal and neonatal development in particular of the brain, but little is known about regulation of fetal thyroid hormone levels throughout human gestation. The purpose of this study was to clarify developmental trends and interrelationships among T(4), free T(4) (FT4), thyroxine-binding globulin (TBG), TSH, T(3), rT(3), and T(4) sulfate (T4S) levels in cord and fetal blood sera (n = 639, 15-42 wk gestation) and correlate infant levels (23-42 wk gestation) to maternal values (n = 428, 16-45 yr) and those of nonpregnant women (n = 233, 16-46 yr). In cord and fetal serum, T(4), T(3), and TBG levels increase with gestation until term; TSH, FT4, T4S, and rT(3) levels increase and peak in the late second/early third trimester and then decline to term; T(4)/TBG ratios increase until late second trimester and plateau to term.

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The purpose of this study was to measure serum T4, free T4, TSH, T3, rT3, T4 sulfate, and thyroxine binding globulin at four time points within the first 24 h of life (cord and 1, 7, and 24 h) in infants between 24 and 34 wk gestation. The infants were subdivided into gestational age groups: 24-27 wk (n = 22); 28-30 wk (n = 26); and 31-34 wk (n = 24). The TSH surge in the first hour of postnatal life was markedly attenuated in infants of 24-27 wk gestation [8 compared with 20 (28-30 wk) and 23 mU/liter (31-34 wk)].

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The type I iodothyronine deiodinase (D1) catalyzes the activation of T4 to T3 as well as the degradation of T3 (rT3) and sulfated iodothyronines. A comparison of the catalytic activities of D1 in liver microsomal preparations from several species revealed a remarkable difference between cat D1 on one hand and rat/human D1 on the other hand. The Michaelis constant (Km) of cat D1 for rT3 (11 microm) is 30-fold higher than that of rat and human D1 (0.

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Critical illness is often associated with reduced TSH and thyroid hormone secretion as well as marked changes in peripheral thyroid hormone metabolism, resulting in low serum T(3) and high rT(3) levels. To study the mechanism(s) of the latter changes, we determined serum thyroid hormone levels and the expression of the type 1, 2, and 3 iodothyronine deiodinases (D1, D2, and D3) in liver and skeletal muscle from deceased intensive care patients. To study mechanisms underlying these changes, 65 blood samples, 65 liver, and 66 skeletal muscle biopsies were obtained within minutes after death from 80 intensive care unit patients randomized for intensive or conventional insulin treatment.

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Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes involved in thyroid hormone metabolism may affect thyroid hormone bioactivity. We investigated the occurrence and possible effects of SNPs in the deiodinases (D1-D3), the TSH receptor (TSHR), and the T(3) receptor beta (TR beta) genes. SNPs were identified in public databases or by sequencing of genomic DNA from 15 randomly selected subjects (30 alleles).

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Polyhalogenated aromatic hydrocarbons (PHAHs), such as polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans, polybrominated diphenylethers, and bisphenol A derivatives are persistent environmental pollutants, which are capable of interfering with reproductive and endocrine function in birds, fish, reptiles, and mammals. PHAHs exert estrogenic effects that may be mediated in part by their hydroxylated metabolites (PHAH-OHs), the mechanisms of which remain to be identified. PHAH-OHs show low affinity for the ER.

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