[Interrelationships between prolactin and the renin-aldosterone system in patients with various endocrine diseases]

Prolactin and aldosterone secretion and renin activity in the plasma were measured in the course of thyroliberin (TRH) test in women with various endocrine diseases, both connected with the water-salt metabolism disturbances and without these--with the idiopathic edemas (n = 11), hypothyrosis (n = 16), Stein-Leventhal'syndrome (n = 6), and obesity (n = 8). A reciprocal relationship between prolactin concentrations (a drastic elevation) and aldosterone levels (lowered) were revealed, as were universal responses of both the hormones to TRH administration in patients with various conditions. The authors come to a conclusion on the absence of a stimulating effect of prolactin on aldosterone secretion and plasma renin activity. They suggest an indirect contribution of prolactin to the regulation of the renin-aldosterone system, probably via dopaminergic mechanisms.