Time Course of Post-Electroconvulsive Therapy Prolactin Levels

Serum samples before and after electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) from eight women patients revealed that prolactin blood levels reached a peak about 11 min after the end of the seizure. On average, the peak elevation over baseline was 385%; this elevation correlated strongly (r = 0.6, p < 0.001) with baseline blood levels. Prolactin peaks after bilateral ECT were significantly (p < 10(-5)) higher than those after unilateral ECT, although seizure duration was not longer. Application of a mathematical model gave an estimate of 17.3 min for the half-life of prolactin elimination from the blood, close to published metabolic measurements. The rate of prolactin release into the blood was greater than the rate of its elimination from the blood.