The thyroid hormone triiodothyronine (T3) is, together with thyroxine (T4), important for our metabolism. Only a small part of triiodothyronine (T3) is formed directly in the thyroid gland and the main part is converted from the relatively inactive T4 in e.g. liver and kidney. Almost all of the thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) found in the blood is bound to protein substances, but it is only the hormones that are free in the blood that have an effect on our metabolism, and therefore it is the amount of free hormone that is measured when taking samples .
TSH is a hormone produced by the pituitary gland. TSH stimulates the thyroid gland to release the hormones thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3), which participate in regulating the body’s metabolism.
TPO-ak, or TPO-antibodies (the abbreviation ak stands for “antibodies”) are so-called autoantibodies, i.e. proteins that the body has formed itself that attack the body’s own tissues. Autoantibodies can affect a tissue in several different ways, sometimes these destroy the tissue so that it cannot perform its task, and in other cases the autoantibodies can cause overfunctioning of the tissues. TPO-ak means that autoantibodies have been formed against thyroid peroxidase (TPO), a substance in the thyroid gland, and can lead to hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism caused by elevated TPO levels is usually called Hashimoto’s disease.
The thyroid gland produces the hormones thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3), which are important for our metabolism. Thyroxine (T4) is a fairly inactive hormone and must be converted to the significantly more active hormone triiodothyronine (T3) in order to have an effect on our metabolism. This sometimes happens in the liver and kidney. Almost all of the thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) in the blood is bound to protein substances, but it is only the hormones that are free in the blood that have an effect on our metabolism. For that reason, it is the amount of free hormone that is measured during sampling. Levaxin (or Euthyrox), which many people get prescribed by their doctor for hypothyroidism, is a synthetic variant of T4 that aims to normalize levels of T4 in the body when one does not produce enough T4 from the thyroid gland.
TRAK, which stands for thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor antibodies, means that the body itself has formed so-called autoantibodies that attack its own tissues in the thyroid gland.
