Prolactin levels in hypothyroid and euthyroid infants during the first week of life

A radioimmunoassay (RIA) procedure was devised for the estimation of PRL in eluates of dried whole blood from filter paper. Levels of PRL were measured in newborn blood obtained during the first week of life from 530 infants of normal birthweight (greater than 2500 g) with normal T4 values, 114 infants of normal birthweight with low T4 values (T4 less than 6.0 micrograms/dl), 47 infants with congenital hypothyroidism, 57 infants of low birthweight (less than 2500 g) with normal T4 values, and 114 infants of low birthweight with low T4 values. Examination of PRL concentrations among comparably aged infants from the various groups revealed that the mean PRL values of the hypothyroid group were consistently greater than those of any of the other groups of infants regardless of the mean T4 levels. With the exception of the hypothyroid infants, the groups with both the lowest mean T4 concentrations and mean body weights also had the lowest mean PRL values.