Tjørve, E, Tjørve, K M C, Olsen, J O et al. · Medical hypotheses · 2007 · DOI
Your body's cells may not respond properly to thyroid hormone even when blood tests show normal thyroid levels. This resistance to thyroid hormone can develop from various causes including infections, medications, toxins, or the immune system attacking thyroid proteins. The authors suggest this acquired resistance might be more common than previously thought and could explain why some patients feel hypothyroid symptoms despite normal blood tests.
Many ME/CFS patients report thyroid-related symptoms despite normal conventional thyroid tests. This paper proposes that tissue-level thyroid hormone resistance—rather than abnormal hormone production—may underlie these symptoms, suggesting current diagnostic approaches may miss a potentially treatable problem in ME/CFS populations. Understanding acquired RTH mechanisms could redirect clinical investigation and treatment strategies.
This is a theoretical review, not an empirical study with patient data or experimental validation. It does not establish that thyroid hormone resistance actually occurs in ME/CFS patients, nor does it prove that antibodies are the primary cause of symptoms. The paper cannot determine whether RTH is reversible or what interventions might restore thyroid sensitivity.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Tjørve, E, Tjørve, K M C, Olsen, J O, Senum, R, & Oftebro, H (2007). On commonness and rarity of thyroid hormone resistance: a discussion based on mechanisms of reduced sensitivity in peripheral tissues.. Medical hypotheses. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mehy.2006.12.056
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-tjrve-2007-commonness-rarity,
author = {Tjørve, E and Tjørve, K M C and Olsen, J O and Senum, R and Oftebro, H},
title = {On commonness and rarity of thyroid hormone resistance: a discussion based on mechanisms of reduced sensitivity in peripheral tissues.},
journal = {Medical hypotheses},
year = {2007},
doi = {10.1016/j.mehy.2006.12.056},
note = {PubMed: 17383828},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/tjrve-2007-commonness-rarity},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/tjrve-2007-commonness-rarity
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