Elite Thyroid Profile is designed for testing six following essential hormones:
- Thyroglobulin (Tgbn),
- Thyroid Stimulating (TSH),
- Free Triiodothyronine (fT3),
- Free Thyroxine (fT4),
- Thyroid Peroxidase Antibody (TPO)
- Thyroxine (t4)
Test Result: You will receive your test result 3-5 working days after the laboratory receives your sample. You will see your hormone levels in graphics and numbers on your test results. You will also see laboratory comments by Hormone Specialist PhD Dr in the comments: you will find an analysis of your hormone levels and what to do next.
- Collect samples from the comfort of your home and post them to our lab.
- The test must be used within 12 months after the purchase date.
- The test kit includes a laboratory fee: no additional laboratory cost or tax.
- Customers are responsible for shipping their samples to the laboratory.
The Elite Thyroid Blood Spot Profile will give you a complete assessment of thyroid health. This includes checking for hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism and monitoring dosages for thyroid replacement. Thyroglobulin to address low iodine status, testing for autoimmune thyroid disease, and quantifying the total T4 produced by the thyroid.
If you are experiencing any of the following symptoms, this test is recommended.
Advantages of a Simple Blood Spot Test
- No phlebotomist or centrifugation is required; therefore, it is less expensive and more convenient than conventional blood draws
- A nearly painless finger stick is used to collect the few drops of blood required
- Private and convenient for both patient and healthcare provider - collection at home or provider’s office
- Hormones and other analyses are stable in dried blood spots at room temperature for weeks, allowing for worldwide shipment
- Safe handling and transport of samples, as infectious agents are destroyed by drying
Symptoms of thyroid problems include:
- Weight gain or inability to lose weight even with exercise and diet
- Weight loss
- Feeling cold all the time when others don’t
- Low energy and stamina (mostly in the evening)
- Irregular bowel habits – constipation/loose stools
- Dry, thinning, and itchy skin
- Hair loss, Dry/brittle hair and nails
- Depression, Insomnia
- Water retention
- Menstrual irregularities
- Low sex drive, Infertility
- Memory lapses or slow/fuzzy thinking
- Osteoporosis
- Muscle and joint aches and pains
- High blood pressure, Increased cholesterol levels
- Heat or cold intolerance
Thyroid Hormone Imbalance
Thyroid disease or dysfunction can explain a wide variety of symptoms (see list below), yet it is notoriously underdiagnosed. The Colorado Thyroid Disease Prevalence Study published in 20001 found that 9.9% of the study population consisted of people who were not treated for thyroid problems yet had abnormal thyroid function test results. This suggests that their thyroid disease was previously undiagnosed. This study also found a significantly greater incidence of thyroid dysfunction in women than in men in each decade after the age of 34. The American Thyroid Association estimates that over 12% of the US population will develop thyroid disease during their lifetime and that as many as 60% of people with thyroid disease are not aware of it2. Overt hypothyroidism, with its characteristically high TSH and low circulating T4 levels, and hyperthyroidism, with low TSH and high T4 levels, are easy to recognise clinically. But an elevated TSH associated with normal thyroid hormone (T3 and T4) levels, defined as “subclinical” hypothyroidism, is thought to be present in 4-10% of the general population and in up to 20% of women over 60 years old; and a low TSH with normal T3 and T4 levels, subclinical hyperthyroidism, occurs in about 2% of the population and is most common in women, blacks, and the elderly3.
TSH – Thyroid Stimulating Hormone
The pituitary produces TSH. TSH acts on the thyroid gland to stimulate the production of the thyroid hormones T4 and T3. Higher than normal TSH can indicate overproduction of or excessive supplementation with T4 and/or T3, Which acts in negative feedback on the pituitary to reduce TSH production. Low TSH can also be caused by problems in the pituitary gland itself, resulting in insufficient TSH to stimulate the thyroid (secondary hypothyroidism).
Free T4- Thyroxine
The predominant hormone is produced by the thyroid gland. It is an inactive hormone and is converted to its active form, T3, within cells. Free T4 is the non-protein bound fraction of the T4 circulating in the blood, representing about 0.04% of the total circulating T4, which is available to tissues. Low TSH combined with low T4 levels indicates hyperthyroidism. High TSH and low T4 abdicate a thyroid gland disease, such as autoimmune thyroiditis (Hashimoto’s).
Total T4 – Thyroxine
Total T4 includes both free T4 and protein-bound T4 and, therefore represents the thyroid gland’s capacity to synthesise, process, and release T4 into the bloodstream. In contrast, free T4 represents only bioavailable circulating hormone and is tightly complexed with thyroid-binding globulin (TBG). Certain conditions, like oral estrogen usage or pregnancy, can
cause total levels to change due to liver induction of TBG. However, this can result in no change in free T4 or lower bioavailable levels of free T4 even though total T4 increases.
Free T3 – Triiodothyronine
The active thyroid hormone regulates the metabolic activity of cells. Free T3 is the non-protein-bound fraction circulating in the blood, representing about 0.4% of the total circulating T3, which is available to tissues. Therefore, elevated T3 levels are seen in hyperthyroid patients, but levels can be normal in hypothyroid patients because it does not represent the intracellular conversion of T4 to T3, which comprises about 60% of all T3 formed in tissues.
TPOab – Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies
Thyroid peroxidase is an enzyme used by the thyroid gland in the manufacture of thyroid hormones by liberating iodine for attachment to tyrosine residues on thyroglobulin. In patients with autoimmune thyroiditis (predominantly Hashimoto’s disease), the body produces antibodies that attack the thyroid gland, and levels of these antibodies in the blood can diagnose this condition and indicate the extent of the disease.
Thyroglobulin (Tgbn)
A protein that is rich in tyrosine and synthesised only in the thyroid gland. When bound to iodine, tyrosine residues in thyroglobulin become the source material for the synthesis of the thyroid hormones T3 and T4. When iodine levels are low, high levels of thyroglobulin can be found in the blood as iodine-poor thyroglobulin builds up and leaks from the thyroid into the bloodstream. Levels of thyroglobulin are an indicator of a person’s average iodine exposure over a period of weeks: the
greater the iodine exposure, the lower the thyroglobulin level. Elevated thyroglobulin, in the absence of more serious thyroid diseases such as thyroid cancer, which results in very high blood thyroglobulin levels, indicates low iodine status.
Elements that Affect Thyroid Function
We are all, to varying degrees, depending on our dietary choices, our supplementation routine, or our lifestyle, exposed to the elements iodine, bromine, selenium, arsenic, and mercury. Levels of these elements in the food we eat are determined by soil levels and other environmental exposure of plants and animals that end up in the food chain and, ultimately, on our dining tables. We can also be directly exposed to elements through environmental pollution of the air we breathe and exposure through our skin. How does exposure to these elements affect health? Iodine is an essential component of T3 and T4, so its deficiency seriously impacts hormone synthesis. Bromine is in the same chemical family as iodine, and excessive amounts will compete with iodine in the thyroid. Selenium is a component of the selenoproteins, including the iodothyronine deiodinases, which convert inactive T4 to its active form in the body (T3), and glutathione peroxidase, which prevents free radical damage to the thyroid by destroying the hydrogen peroxide that is a by-product of thyroid hormone synthesis. Arsenic and mercury are toxic heavy metals that form tight complexes with selenium and, therefore, reduce selenium’s bioavailability, resulting in biological effects similar to selenium deficiency, including disruption to thyroid health. While bromine, arsenic, and mercury are known biological toxins, even iodine and selenium can potentially be toxic if dietary intake, including excessive supplementation, is too high.
