Englisch
Applied Medical Cybernetics with SPINA

SPINA is a joint international project under the aegis of the medical faculty of the Ruhr University Bochum (NRW, Germany). Cooperation partners include the Imperial College London (England, United Kingdom), the Lee Kong Chian Schoool of Medicine, Nanyuang Technological University (Singapur), the Christian Medical College Vellore (Tamil Nadu, India) and the Klinikum Lüdenscheid (NRW, Germany). Historical partners are the Hospitals of the Ludwig Maximilian University Munich (BY, Germany) and the Ulm University Hospitals (BW, Germany).

Deutsch
Angewandte Medizinische Kybernetik mit SPINA

SPINA ist ein internationales Verbundprojekt unter Federführung der Medizinischen Fakultät der Ruhr-Universität Bochum. Zu den Kooperationspartnern zählen das Imperial College London (Vereinigtes Königreich), die Lee Kong Chian Schoool of Medicine an der Nanyuang Technological University (Singapur), das Christian Medical College Vellore (Tamil Nadu, Indien) und das Klinikum Lüdenscheid. Historische Partner umfassen das Klinikum der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München und das Universitätsklinikum Ulm.

Imperial College London

LMU München

LKC School of Medicine Singapore

Universitätsklinikum Ulm

Christian Medical College Vellore

Ruhr-Universität Bochum

Englisch
About SPINA

SPINA (Structure Parameter Inference Approach) is a method for calculating constant structure parameters of endocrine feedback control systems from serum or plasma hormone concentrations of hormones or metabolites obtained in vivo.

A first implementation that has been applied to the in-vivo evaluation of thyroid function allows for calculating the thyroid's secretory capacity (SPINA-GT) and the sum activity of peripheral 5'-deiodinases (SPINA-GD) from concentrations of TSH, FT4 and FT3 that have been determined only once (SPINA Thyr). This method is increasingly used in experimental research and clinical trials.

The second application of SPINA (SPINA Carb) addresses insulin-glucose homeostasis. The method delivers equations for calculating pancreatic beta cell function (SPINA-GBeta) and insulin sensitivity (SPINA-GR). Additionally, it lays the foundation for determining a static disposition index (SPINA-DI). Clinical trials could demonstrate advantages of the new techniques compared to alternative methods.

Deutsch
Über SPINA

SPINA (Struktur-Parameter-Inferenz-Ansatz) ist ein Verfahren zur Berechnung konstanter Strukturparameter endokriner Regelkreise aus gemessenen Serum- oder Plasma-Konzentrationen von Hormonen und Metaboliten.

Eine erste Anwendung wurde zur in-vivo-Berechnung der maximalen Schilddrüsen-Sekretionsleistung (SPINA-GT) und der Summenaktivität peripherer 5'-Dejodinasen (SPINA-GD) aus einmalig bestimmten TSH-, FT4- und FT3-Konzentrationen entwickelt (SPINA Thyr). Dieses Verfahren findet zunehmend Einsatz in experimentellen Untersuchungen und klinischen Studien.

Die zweite SPINA-Anwendung (SPINA Carb) betrifft die Insulin-Glukose-Homöostase. Die Methode liefert Gleichungen zur Bestimmung der Betazellfunktion (SPINA-GBeta) und der Insulinsensitivität (SPINA-GR). Darüber hinaus legt sie die Grundlage zur Bestimmung eines statischen Dispositionsindex (SPINA-DI). Klinische Studien haben Vorteile der neuen Verfahren gegenüber Alternativmethoden demonstriert.

Cooperation

Researchers and Centers involved in the project


Cooperation partners

Imperial College London

Imperial College London
Subprojects: SPINA Carb, SimulaBeta and CyberUnits and modelling of MiMe-NoCoDI loops
Bernhard O. Boehm

LKC School of Medicine Singapore

Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine
Nanyang Technological University Singapore

Subprojects: SPINA Carb, SimulaBeta and CyberUnits and modelling of MiMe-NoCoDI loops
Bernhard O. Boehm

Christian Medical College Vellore

Christian Medical College Vellore
Subprojects: SPINA Carb and SimulaBeta
Nihal Thomas, Riddhi Dasgupta, Shajith Anoop, Felix Jebasingh, Mathews E. Kurian, Mercy Inbakumari

Bangalore Baptist Hospital

Bangalore Baptist Hospital
Subproject: SPINA Carb
R. Spurgeon

LMU München

Ludwig Maximilian University Munich
Subproject: SPINA Thyr, SimThyr and modelling of MiMe-NoCoDI loops
Johannes W. Dietrich, Ulla Mitzdorf, C. Renate Pickardt

Universitätsklinikum Ulm

Universitäsklinikum Ulm
Subprojects: SPINA Thyr, SPINA Carb and modelling of MiMe-NoCoDI loops
Johannes W. Dietrich, Bernhard O. Boehm

Klinikum Lüdenscheid

Klinikum Lüdenscheid
Subprojects: SPINA Thyr, SimThyr
Rudolf Hoermann, Rolf Larisch

Ruhr-Universität Bochum

Universitätsklinikum der Ruhr-Universität Bochum
Subprojects: SPINA Thyr, SPINA Carb, SimThyr, SimulaBeta, SimulAdren, CyberUnits and modelling of MiMe-NoCoDI loops
Johannes W. Dietrich, Assjana Abood, Bojana Bazika-Gerasch, Apostolos Chatzitomaris, Nina Siegmar

Publications

Papers and books about SPINA and its theory


References and literature

Research papers and review articles

Dietrich, J. W., A. Tesche, C. R. Pickardt und U. Mitzdorf (2004). "Thyrotropic Feedback Control: Evidence for an Additional Ultrashort Feedback Loop from Fractal Analysis." Cybernetics and Systems 35 (4): 315-31. doi: 10.1080/01969720490443354

Dietrich JW, Landgrafe G, Fotiadou EH (2012). TSH and Thyrotropic Agonists: Key Actors in Thyroid Homeostasis. J Thyroid Res. 2012;2012:351864. doi: 10.1155/2012/351864. Epub 2012 Dec 30. PMID: 23365787; PMCID: PMC3544290.

Hoermann, R., J. E. M. Midgley, R. Larisch, J. W. Dietrich (2013). Is Pituitary Thyrotropin an Adequate Measure Of Thyroid Hormone-Controlled Homeostasis During Thyroxine Treatment?. European Journal of Endocrinology 168(2):271-80. PMID 23184912, doi: 10.1530/EJE-12-0819.

Midgley, J. E. M., R. Hoermann, R. Larisch, J. W. Dietrich (2013). Physiological states and functional relation between thyrotropin and free thyroxine in thyroid health and disease: in vivo and in silico data suggest a hierarchical model. Journal of Clinical Pathology 66(4):335-42. PMID 23423518, doi: 10.1136/jclinpath-2012-201213.

Hoermann R, Midgley JE, Larisch R, Dietrich JW (2015). Integration of Peripheral and Glandular Regulation of Triiodothyronine Production by Thyrotropin in Untreated and Thyroxine-Treated Subjects. Hormone and Metabolic Research, PMID: 25750078 doi: 10.1055/s-0034-1398616.

Dietrich JW, Müller P, Schiedat F, Schlömicher M, Strauch J, Chatzitomaris A, Klein HH, Mügge A, Köhrle J, Rijntjes E, Lehmphul I. Nonthyroidal Illness Syndrome in Cardiac Illness Involves Elevated Concentrations of 3,5-Diiodothyronine and Correlates with Atrial Remodeling. Eur Thyroid J. 2015 Jun;4(2):129-37. doi: 10.1159/000381543. Epub 2015 May 23. PMID 26279999; PMCID PMC4521060.

Dietrich JW, Landgrafe-Mende G, Wiora E, Chatzitomaris A, Klein HH, Midgley JE, Hoermann R. Calculated Parameters of Thyroid Homeostasis: Emerging Tools for Differential Diagnosis and Clinical Research. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2016 Jun 9;7:57. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2016.00057. PMID: 27375554; PMCID: PMC4899439.

Berberich J, Dietrich JW, Hoermann R, Müller MA. Mathematical Modeling of the Pituitary-Thyroid Feedback Loop: Role of a TSH-T(3)-Shunt and Sensitivity Analysis. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2018 Mar 21;9:91. doi 10.3389/fendo.2018.00091. PMID 29619006; PMCID PMC5871688.

Hoermann R, Midgley JEM, Larisch R, Dietrich JW (2018). The role of functional thyroid capacity in pituitary thyroid feedback regulation. Eur J Clin Invest. 2018 Oct;48(10):e13003. doi: 10.1111/eci.13003. PMID: 30022470.

Aweimer A, El-Battrawy I, Akin I, Borggrefe M, Mügge A, Patsalis PC, Urban A, Kummer M, Vasileva S, Stachon A, Hering S, Dietrich JW. Abnormal thyroid function is common in takotsubo syndrome and depends on two distinct mechanisms: results of a multicentre observational study. J Intern Med. 2021 May;289(5):675-687. doi: 10.1111/joim.13189. Epub 2020 Nov 12. PMID: 33179374.

Aweimer A, Schiedat F, Schöne D, Landgrafe-Mende G, Bogossian H, Mügge A, Patsalis PC, Gotzmann M, Akin I, El-Battrawy I, Dietrich JW. Abnormal Cardiac Repolarization in Thyroid Diseases: Results of an Observational Study. Front Cardiovasc Med. 2021 Nov 23;8:738517. doi: 10.3389/fcvm.2021.738517. PMID: 34888359; PMCID: PMC8649843.

Dietrich JW, Dasgupta R, Anoop S, Jebasingh F, Kurian ME, Inbakumari M, Boehm BO, Thomas N. SPINA Carb: a simple mathematical model supporting fast in-vivo estimation of insulin sensitivity and beta cell function. Sci Rep. 2022 Oct 21;12(1):17659. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-22531-3. PMID: 36271244; PMCID: PMC9587026.

Abu Rached N, Dietrich JW, Ocker L, Quast DR, Scheel C, Gambichler T, Bechara FG. Primary Thyroid Dysfunction Is Prevalent in Hidradenitis Suppurativa and Marked by a Signature of Hypothyroid Graves' Disease: A Case-Control Study. J Clin Med. 2023 Dec 4;12(23):7490. doi: 10.3390/jcm12237490. PMID: 38068542; PMCID: PMC10707714.

Bazika-Gerasch B, Kumowski N, Enax-Krumova E, Kaisler M, Eitner LB, Maier C, Dietrich JW. Impaired autonomic function and somatosensory disturbance in patients with treated autoimmune thyroiditis. Sci Rep. 2024 May 29;14(1):12358. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-63158-w. PMID: 38811750; PMCID: PMC11137073.

Dietrich JW, Abood A, Dasgupta R, Anoop S, Jebasingh FK, Spurgeon R, Thomas N, Boehm BO. A novel simple disposition index (SPINA-DI) from fasting insulin and glucose concentration as a robust measure of carbohydrate homeostasis. J Diabetes. 2024 Sep;16(9):e13525. doi: 10.1111/1753-0407.13525. Epub 2024 Jan 2. PMID: 38169110; PMCID: PMC11418405.

Bansal V, Winkelmann BR, Dietrich JW, Boehm BO. Whole-exome sequencing in familial type 2 diabetes identifies an atypical missense variant in the RyR2 gene. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2024 Feb 20;15:1258982. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2024.1258982. PMID: 38444585; PMCID: PMC10913019.

Aweimer A, Dietrich JW, Santoro F, Fàbregas MC, Mügge A, Núñez-Gil IJ, Vazirani R, Vedia O, Pätz T, Ragnatela I, Arcari L, Volpe M, Corbì-Pascual M, Martinez-Selles M, Almendro-Delia M, Sionis A, Uribarri A, Thiele H, Brunetti ND, Eitel I, Stiermaier T, Hamdani N, Abumayyaleh M, Akin I, El-Battrawy I. Takotsubo syndrome outcomes predicted by thyroid hormone signature: insights from cluster analysis of a multicentre registry. EBioMedicine. 2024 Apr;102:105063. doi: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2024.105063. Epub 2024 Mar 18. PMID: 38502972; PMCID: PMC10963195.

Dietrich, J. W., Siegmar, N., Hojjati, J. R., Gardt, O., & Boehm, B. O. (2024). CyberUnits Bricks: An Implementation Study of a Class Library for Simulating Nonlinear Biological Feedback Loops. ADCAIJ: Advances in Distributed Computing and Artificial Intelligence Journal, 13(1), e31762. doi: 10.14201/adcaij.31762

Dietrich JW, P4-Endokrinologie – Kybernetische Perspektiven eines neuen Ansatzes, Leibniz Online, Dez. 2024, doi: 10.53201/leibnizonline54.

Abu Rached N, Dietrich JW, Ocker L, Stockfleth E, Haven Y, Myszkowski D, Bechara FG. Endotyping Insulin-Glucose Homeostasis in Hidradenitis Suppurativa: The Impact of Diabetes Mellitus and Inflammation. J Clin Med. 2025 Mar 21;14(7):2145. doi: 10.3390/jcm14072145. PMID: 40217596; PMCID: PMC11990022.

Conference papers

Dietrich, J. W., U. Mitzdorf, R. Weitkunat und C. R. Pickardt (1997). "The pituitary-thyroid feedback control: stability and oscillations in a new nonlinear model." Journal of Endocrinological Investigation 20 (Suppl. to no. 5): 100.

Dietrich, J., M. Fischer, J. Jauch, E. Pantke, R. Gärtner und C. R. Pickardt (1999). "SPINA-THYR: A Novel Systems Theoretic Approach to Determine the Secretion Capacity of the Thyroid Gland." European Journal of Internal Medicine 10, Suppl. 1 (5/1999): S34.

Dietrich, J. W., A. Tesche, C. R. Pickardt und U. Mitzdorf (2002). Fractal Properties of the Thyrotropic Feedback Control: Implications of a Nonlinear Model Compared with Empirical Data. In: Cybernetics and Systems 2002. R. Trappl (Hrsg). Vienna, Austrian Society for Cybernetic Studies: 329-34.

Dietrich, J. W. and B. O. Boehm (2006). Equilibrium behaviour of feedback-coupled physiological saturation kinetics. In: Cybernetics and Systems 2006. R. Trappl (Hrsg). Vienna, Austrian Society for Cybernetic Studies. 1: 269-74. doi: 10.13140/2.1.2400.2568

Dietrich JW, Boehm BO: Die MiMe-NoCoDI-Plattform: Ein Ansatz für die Modellierung biologischer Regelkreise. GMS - German Medical Science 2015(60. Jahrestagung der GMDS e.V.): DocAbstr. 284.

Dietrich JW. A Methodology for Vertical Translation Between Molecular and Organismal Level in Biological Feedback Loops. bioRxiv 2021.09.20.461028; doi: 10.1101/2021.09.20.461028

Books

Dietrich JW. (2002). Der Hypophysen-Schilddrüsen-Regelkreis. Entwicklung und klinische Anwendung eines nichtlinearen Modells. Berlin, Logos-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-89722-850-4.

Dietrich JW, Midgley JEM, Hoermann R (2018), Homeostasis and allostasis of thyroid function. Lausanne: Frontiers Media, 2018. doi: 10.3389/978-2-88945-570-6

Hoermann R, Dietrich JW (2025), Hypothyroidism: a Paradigm Shift, Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore, 2025. doi: 10.1007/978-981-96-3682-2.

General information:

SPINA Thyr:

SPINA Carb:

SPINA R package:

Theory and simulation software:

  • CyberUnits Bricks: A class library for the development of high-permance computer simulations.
  • SimThyr: A simulation program for pituitary-thyroid feedback control system, using SPINA Thyr's model.
  • SimulaBeta: A simulation program for insulin-glucose homeostasis, used to validate SPINA Carb's model.
  • SimulAdren: A simulation program for the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis.
SPINA Carb on macOS Sequoia

Contact

Get In touch

Impressum

apl. Prof. Dr. med. Johannes W. Dietrich, MLS

Sektion Diabetologie, Endokrinologie und Stoffwechsel

Universitätsklinik St. Josef-Hospital

Gudrunstraße 56

44791 Bochum

www.endokrinologie.org

Kontakt

Fernruf: (02 34) 5 09 – 32 71

Telefax: (02 34) 5 09 – 24 72

eMail: johannes.dietrich [at] ruhr-uni-bochum.de

Umsatzsteuer-ID

Umsatzsteuer-Identifikationsnummer gemäß § 27 a Umsatzsteuergesetz:

DE170006577

Berufsbezeichnung und berufsrechtliche Regelungen

Berufsbezeichnung:

Arzt

Zuständige Kammer:

Ärztekammer Westfalen-Lippe

Gartenstr. 210 – 214

48147 Münster

Verliehen in:

NRW

Redaktionell verantwortlich

apl. Prof. Dr. med. Johannes W. Dietrich

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