Dynamic function tests

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Dynamic function tests


Much of clinical endocrinology is concerned with diseases that involve either a deficiency or an excess of hormones. It is not always possible to diagnose these diseases on the basis of clinical assessment and baseline laboratory investigations. Dynamic function tests (DFTs) involve either stimulating or suppressing a particular hormonal axis, and observing the appropriate hormonal response. In general, if a deficiency is suspected, a stimulation test should be used; if excess is suspected, a suppression test is used. Often, the stimulus is an exogenous analogue of a trophic hormone; in other cases it is provided by biochemical or physiological stress, e.g. hypoglycaemia or exercise.


On subsequent pages, individual DFT procedures are discussed in the context of specific hormonal axes. Here, we describe the principles that underpin some of these DFTs, and look at aspects of interpretation. The abbreviations used for the various hormones and the tests are listed in Tables 41.1 and 41.2 respectively.




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Jun 18, 2016 | Posted by in BIOCHEMISTRY | Comments Off on Dynamic function tests

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