Prolactin in hypertensive pregnancy

Plasma prolactin levels were measured in 68 pregnant women with hypertension at 32 weeks gestation. They were raised in pregnancies with pre-eclamptic features, most significantly in women with a rising plasma urate level. No correlation was found between the level of the untreated blood pressure and prolactin. Proteinuria did not influence prolactin levels independently of changes in the plasma urate. The differences in prolactin levels could not be ascribed to the drugs administered.