[Plasma prolactin in middle-aged and elderly, hypertension patients over 60 and in persons with hyperlipoproteinemia]

Plasma prolactin level was studied in 92 practically healthy subjects, distributed into three age groups--20-44, 60-74 and 75-90 as well as in 25 patients with hypertonic disease (HD) aged over 60 and 30 subjects with hyperlipoproteinemia. Plasma prolactin was determined radioimmunologically. The results obtained show that plasma prolactin level is not essentially changed with age advancing. A tendency of plasma prolactin reduction in elderly and aged people is observed but the difference versus the control group is statistically insignificant. The females from the young age group, show significantly higher values of prolactin versus the males. In the elderly and aged people, the differences according to sex in prolactin level disappears, most likely due to dying out of ovarian function of the females and reduction of the stimulating effect of estrogens upon prolactin secretion. The patients with hypertonic disease over 60 and the males with hyperlipoproteinemia show a significant elevation of plasma prolactin as compared with the subjects from the control group.