Question

Tony had his thyroid gland surgically removed when he was in his late twenties; now he is in his sixties. He takes Synthroid (thyroxine) pills daily and periodically has his blood levels checked for T4 and TSH.

Answer the following questions (1 pt each):

A. What would be some of Tony’s symptoms if he did not take his medication?

B. What would be some of Tony’s symptoms if he took an overdose of these pills over an extended period of time?

C. Define hydrophilic and hydrophobic. What about the chemical structure of a hormone makes it hydrophilic or hydrophobic?

D. How does being hydrophobic or hydrophilic affect the production and release, transport, and action of a hormone?

E. Is thyroxine hydrophilic or hydrophobic? How is that related to whether or not Tony could take it as a pill (orally) instead of having to inject it?

F. What does the abbreviation T4 stand for? What does this hormone do?

G. What does the abbreviation TSH stand for? What does this hormone do?

H. How does the thyroxine in his pills affect his blood levels of TSH?

I. If the dose of his thyroxine pills is too low, what would happen to his blood levels of T4 and TSH?  

J. If the dose of his thyroxine pills is too high, what would happen to his blood levels of T4 and TSH?

Answer 1

A) symptoms if he did not take his medication are:-Trouble concentrating,Dryskin, Muscle cramps, Weight gain, Cold intolerance ,Fatigue ,Sleep problems.

B)Overdose symptoms may include feeling nervous or irritable, chest pain, shortness of breath, headache, leg cramps, tremors and fast or pounding heartbeats.

C)Nonpolar molecules that repel the water molecules are called hydrophobic molecules while hydrophilic molecules forms ionic or a hydrogen bond with the water molecule.

Hydrophobic hormones are able to diffuse through the membrane and interact with an intracellular receptor while hydrophilic hormones must interact with cell membrane receptors. Thyroid hormone and steroid hormones are lipid solubles while all other acid–derived hormones are water soluble.

D) Cells can have many receptors for different types of hormones and the number of receptors that respond to a hormone determines the cell’s sensitivity to that hormone, and the resulting cellular response.But the number of receptors that respond to a hormone can change over time, resulting in increased or decreased cell sensitivity.

Lipid derived hormones such as steroid hormones diffuse across the membranes of the endocrine cell. but lipid-insoluble hormones do not directly affect the target cell because they cannot enter the cell and act directly on DNA.

Hope this helps you. Thank you ?