Prostaglandins stimulate thyroid function in pregnant women

Intravaginal or intravenous administration of prostaglandin F(2alpha) to pregnant women produced significant elevations of plasma triiodothyronine and thyroxine concentrations, but no rise of thyrotropin. These observations are consistent with those of previous in vitro studies indicating that prostaglandins can act directly on the thyroid gland to stimulate thyroid hormone synthesis or release, or both.

Taussig-Bing heart with mitral valve straddling: case reports and postmortem study

Seven autopsied cases of the Taussig-Bing Heart diagnosed at the Heart Institute of Japan were reexamined for this report. Three cases had been correctly classified according to the original description of the Taussig-Bing Heart. The remaining four cases provided examples of a rare variation of this malformation. Characteristic features included the following: the mitral valve straddled the ventricular septum in all cases; the chordae of the anterior leaflet crossed over the septum into the right ventricle through a large subpulmonary ventricular septal defect; and an abnormal muscle ridge, extending from the caudal part of the parietal band, covered the right ventricular side of the ventricular septal defect. Although these four cases differ anatomically from the original Taussig-Bing Heart, their hemodynamics are similar. We have called this anomaly the Taussig-Bing Heart with mitral valve straddling.