Long term treatment with oral single administration of bromocriptine in patients with hyperprolactinemia

In the treatment of hyperprolactinemia bromocriptine is generally administered in 3 daily doses during the day. Due to the limited compliance of patients under this long term regimen, in 16 hyperprolactinemic patients we investigated the efficacy and tolerability of the treatment with this dopaminergic drug administered as a single evening dose. This dose was the same which the patients had been assuming previously on a tid basis. Chronic treatment (4-12 months) with an oral single evening dose of bromocriptine is able to control plasma PRL at least as well as the traditional tid regimen (2.8-21.6 ng/ml vs 1.2-31.8 ng/ml). Furthermore, during this single dose regimen the side effects were of lesser intensity and extent. Since the compliance of the patients with the single dose regimen was very good and the efficacy the same in reducing plasma PRL and controlling the clinical manifestations with a lower rate of side effects, we suggest to extend this regimen to all patients with hyperprolactinemia treated with bromocriptine after successful reduction of plasma PRL levels is obtained.