[An endocrinological study of hyperprolactinemia and its treatment (author's transl)]

Twenty-six cases of women with pituitary adenoma and seven cases of women with functional hyperprolactinemia were studied to evaluate the effects of neurosurgery and Bromocriptine treatment. In the patients with pituitary adenoma, the mean serum PRL level was significantly higher than that in the functional cases. Among the patients with pituitary adenoma, the serum PRL levels were roughly correlated to the size of the tumors. Basal serum LH, FSH and 17 beta-estradiol levels were lower in the patients with pituitary macroadenoma than in those with microadenoma. Neurosurgery was performed on fourteen patients of pituitary adenoma. Of ten cases with visual disturbance, it was necessary to use Bromocriptine to reduce the serum PRL to the normal level after operation. In the treatment of sixteen patients with microadenoma, Bromocriptine alone was used for eight of them and surgery was performed on four. As a result, there was a significant lowering of the serum PRL level and induction of regular menses in ten patients. Regular menses were induced by means of Bromocriptine treatment in all of the patients with functional hyperprolactinemia. Our data indicate that neurosurgery, either selective or combined with Bromocriptine, can normalize PRL levels and induce regular menses in patients with hyperprolactinemia.