Diarrhoeae in thyroid medullary carcinoma: role of prostaglandins and therapeutic effect of nutmeg.

Abstract

In a patient with medullary carcinoma of the thyroid with pulmonary metastases who presented with diarrhoea and steatorrhoea large amounts of prostaglandin-like material were present in peripheral blood, and some was extracted from the tumour. The diarrhoea which persisted after thyroidectomy responded to treatment with nutmeg.