Plummer effect

named after the American endocrinologist Henry Stanley Plummer (1874-1936)
German: Plummer-Effekt

1 Definition

The Plummer effect is a compensatory mechanism taking place in the healthy thyroid gland that prevents the development of thyrotoxicosis in situations of iodine excess.

2 Mechanism

Elevated intracellular iodine concentrations block the proteolysis of thyroglobulin and the release of preformed thyroid hormones.

The Plummer effect is to be distinguished from the Wolff-Chaikoff effect, where the uptake of iodine in the follicular cell and the synthesis of thyroid hormones by the thyroid peroxidase are inhibited by high iodine concentrations.

3 References

• Saller et al. Kinetics of acute and chronic iodine excess Exp Clin Endocrinol Diabetes 1998