Raised serum prolactin levels in amenorrhoea

Serum prolactin levels measured by specific radio-immunoassay were over 30 mug/l in seven out of 25 women with amenorrhoea and in eight women with the amenorrhoe-galactorrhoea syndrome. There was no apparent relationship between these levels and levels of follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormones, and thyroid-stimulating hormone. Bromocriptine caused a transient fall in the proclatin levels in six out of seven cases, and in three menstruation and ovulation were restored. Estimation of serum prolactin may become important in assessing the degree of hypothalamic-pituitary dysfunction in amenorrhoea, and it may help in identifying a subgroup of patients at risk of developing a pituitary tumour or patients who may respond to specific treatment.