What is a TSH test?
TSH test is a simple blood test that your doctor
uses to find out how well your thyroid is working. normally, the range
should be 0.5-5.0uU/ml. We recommend all adults be tested for thyroid
disease beginning at age 35 and every 5 years thereafter.
Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) is your body's signal to your thyroid
gland to make less or more thyroid hormone. When your TSH is high, it
usually means that there isn't enough thyroid hormone in your blood.
This is called hypothyroidism. A low TSH level means your blood has
too much thyroid hormone. This is called hyperthyroidism.
It is very convenient to do the serum TSH testing. The normal range
is from 0.5 to 5.0uU/ml. TSH testing is very useful to diagnose hypothyroidism
and very important to the dosage adjustment of thyroid incretion treatment.
The shortcoming is not sensitive to the low range of TSH testing. It
also cannot distinguish hypothyroid status with the normal status. High
serum TSH can be found when it is with low thyroid incretion or normal
thyroid incretion. Normal serum TSH can be found when it is with normal
status or decreasing in thyroid function; low serum TSH can be found
when it is with normal status, hypothyroid or decreasing in thyroid
function, also hypothyroidism, Graves and early period of pregnancy.
In recent years, some new testing can test TSH
with 0.1-0.5uU/ml. The new IRMA uses 2 or 3 antibodies (1 0r 2 is irradiation
signal),
these cloned antibodies depends on the accepter part
in TSH. The irradiation signal of this testing is very stable and sensitive.
EIA also use cloned
antibodies to test TSH and has similar strongpoint
with IRMA. These high sensitive testing can diagnose over 90% hypothyroid
patient and
can replace TRH testing. The sensitiveness of ICMA
to test TSH can be 0.06uU/ml. It also can easily distinguish the normal
person with the
hypothyroid.
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