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JEROME M. HERSHMAN, DALE G. READ, ANNE L. BAILEY, VICTOR D. NORMAN, TIMOTHY B. GIBSON, Effect of Cold Exposure on Serum Thyrotropin, The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, Volume 30, Issue 4, 1 April 1970, Pages 430–434, https://doi.org/10.1210/jcem-30-4-430
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Abstract
To study the effect of cold exposure on serum thyrotropin, normal male volunteer subjects were exposed to 2–4 C and blood samples were obtained every 10 min for 1 hr. Serum TSH measured by radioimmunoassay did not change in 14 subjects. Administration of large doses of dexamethasone, testosterone propionate and conjugated equine estrogen separately or combined did not alter the TSH level in response to this cold exposure. Severe hypothermia in 11 patients undergoing open heart surgery failed to elevate serum TSH. In rats exposed to 3–4 C for 30 and 240 min. there was a significant increase in serum TSH measured by both bioassay and radioimmunoassay. The results indicate that acute cold exposure in man will not serve as a test of the integrity of the hypothalamic-pituitary TSH axis or as a means of testing pituitary thyrotropin reserve.