Research Institute for Nuclear Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
The incidence of mole pregnancy appears to be higher in Iran than in Europe or North America. This gave us an opportunity to study a number of biochemical measurements related to the thyroid. In 14 patients with hydatiform mole, the T3 resin uptake, serum thyroxine (T4), ETR, T3 RIA, human serum TSH (hTSH) and serum human Chorinic gonadotropin (hCG) were measured. Of the 14 patients 6 showed clinical symtoms of hyperthyroidism. The TBG was increased in all cases, as expected in pregnancy. The T3 resin uptake was low in 4 of the 6 hyperthyroid cases, while the T4 was evevated in all 6 cases. As measured by RIA, each of the 6 hyperthyroid women had high values of T3 (greater than 3 ng/ml). The ETR was elevated in all 6 patients. The hTSH was normal in the 14 cases of mole pregnancy. After removal of the mole, the hTSH slightly rose in the 6 previously hyperthyroid cases. The hCG lev-', was high in all 14 individuals, due to the molar pregnancy. However, it was not significantly higher in the 6 patients with clinical hyperthyroidism. There was not a direct correlation between the level of hCG and the degree of hyperthyroidism. The hCG fell to zero after removal of the mole. We conclude that a significant portion (6/14) of women with mole pregnancy in Iran have clinical evidence of hyperthyroidism. This does not directly correlate with the total hCG level, but might be related to individual variability in the TSH-like effects of hCG or in sensitivity of the thyrotropin effects of hCG.
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