Relation between central cerebral atrophy, memory defects and prolactin secretion

Concentrations of prolactin in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and in serum were determined from 26 neurological patients with or without minor central cerebral atrophy. Neuropsychological memory tests also were performed on these patients. Twenty-eight neurological patients with peripheral nervous lesions and without endocrine dysfunctions served as controls for prolactin levels. Patients with central cerebral atrophy had significant loss of recall capacity, though they did not differ significantly from the normal population in their intellectual performances. CSF and serum prolactin levels in the patients with central cerebral atrophy and/or memory defects did not differ from the values obtained in the patients without cerebral atrophy. Thus, prolactin levels do not appear to reflect either central cerebral atrophy or memory dysfunctions, most likely due to the minor degree of neuronal atrophy around the third ventricle that occurs in patients with these findings.