Experimental hyperthyroidism in dogs and effect of salivariectomy

¹ Department of Biochemistry and Nutrition, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

A hyperthyroid state was induced and maintained in 17 dogs for 2–10 months by the administration of massive amounts of thyroid hormone. The great tolerance of this species to such large doses was striking. The clinical signs characteristic of hyperthyroidism in other mammals were observed including significantly increased caloric intake, oxygen consumption, heart rate, and body temperature. The laboratory findings included polycythemia, markedly increased levels of protein-bound iodide (PBI), increased turnover rates of l-thyroxine, and a decreased urinary excretion of inorganic iodide. Unlike other species the hyperthyroid dogs did not demonstrate marked reductions in body weight or serum cholesterol. Salivariectomy neither hastened nor enhanced the onset of exogenous hyperthyroidism in the dog. Measurements of the rate of disappearance of I¹³¹ l-thyroxine from the plasma and the rate of appearance of radioactive iodide in the urine indicated that the salivary glands in the intact dog are effective sites of deiodination and iodide excretion. This activity, however, is not the sole regulator of the level of circulating thyroid hormone and thus of the thyroid state.