Use of bromocriptine in hyperprolactinaemic anovulation and related disorders

Bromocriptine has been successfully used to treat hyperprolactinaemic disorders of ovulation; treatment with 5.0 to 7.5 mg daily results in normalisation of serum prolactin concentration and restoration of ovulatory menstruation in most patients with hyperprolactinaemic amenorrhoea or oligomenorrhoea. It is equally effective in hyperprolactinaemic patients with pituitary tumours as in those with normal pituitary x-rays, but the choice of bromocriptine as primary treatment in the former group (especially in those patients who desire pregnancy) is a matter of some controversy and requires careful judgement. Bromocriptine has also been used, with reported success, in infertility associated with luteal insufficiency, the polycystic ovary syndrome, normoprolactinaemic amenorhoea and ovulatory infertility. However, its role in the treatment of these disorders will remain uncertain until more extensive, adequately controlled clinical trials are availabe.