Diagnosis of malignancy in thyroid nodules by factor analysis of spectral and dynamic structures: a simultaneous dual-isotope dynamic study with thallium-201 and iodine-131.

The aim of this study was to identify malignant thyroid nodules using iodine-123 and thallium-201 simultaneous dynamic acquisition. The image sequences acquired were processed by factor analysis of spectral and dynamic structures (FASDS). Some 49 patients were investigated, and their diagnoses were confirmed by histological examination. Data processing enables the estimation of the spectra of the two isotopes and the evaluation of the kinetics and spatial structures related to each tracer. The superimposition of thallium and iodide sum images allowed us to delineate the nodule accurately. Two groups were defined: 21 patients who had 201Tl uptake in the nodule, and 28 who had none. In the first group, 5 nodules were carcinomas, whereas all nodules in the second group were benign. The results of the 201Tl dynamic study improved the diagnosis of carcinoma as the number of false-positive cases decreased. FASDS succeeds in extracting spectral and kinetic information, proving its usefulness in clinical diagnosis.

Effects of sodium ipodate and propylthiouracil in athyreotic human subjects, role of triiodothyronine and pituitary thyroxine monodeiodination in thyrotrophin regulation.

To investigate the respective role of triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4) in the regulation of TSH secretion, we studied the action of sodium ipodate and propylthiouracil (PTU) in 11 athyreotic patients. The LT4 replacement dose was adjusted to obtain, in each patient, a normal basal TSH level and a normal TSH response to TRH. In the 5 ipodate-treated patients (single 6 g oral dose), the mean serum T3 level fell by 64% below the baseline value and serum rT3 rose 180% above the baseline. The free T4 index (FT4I) did not change whereas the mean serum TSH concentration increased 280% above baseline values. In the 6 PTU-treated patients (250 mg orally every 6 h for 10 days), serum T3 levels fell 33%, serum rT3 increased up to 82% and the FT4I did not change. The mean serum TSH concentration increased 68% above the baseline value. Thus, the mean percentage increase in serum TSH was less in PTU- than in ipodate-treated patients (68% vs 280%). Statistical analysis of the correlation between the serum T3 decrease (delta T3) and the serum TSH (delta TSH) increase demonstrated that for the same T3 diminution, the ipodate-treated group displayed higher increase of TSH than the PTU-treated patients. In the rat, PTU interferes with the 5'-deiodination of T4 in the liver and kidney but not in the pituitary, while ipodate appears to have the same effect in all tissues. If this holds true for human subjects, our data strongly suggest that circulating T4 (through its intrapituitary conversion to T3) shares with serum T3 the capacity to regulate TSH secretion in man.