Daily water and electrolyte balance in chronically hyperprolactinaemic rats

1. Chronic hyperprolactinaemia was induced in eight male rats by implantation of anterior pituitary glands from inbred female rats. The ten control rats underwent sham operations. 2. The spontaneous 24 hr water intake of hyperprolactinaemic rats was greater than that of the controls. Intake was increased only at night. 3. The increased water intake was independent of food intake and was not secondary to increased salt intake. 4. When prolactin secretion was inhibited with bromocriptine, there was a parallel fall in water intake and plasma prolactin levels in the experimental animals to the levels observed in the controls. 5. Urine volume was greater and urine osmolality lower in the hyperprolactinaemic rats than in the controls during both day and night. 6. In the evening, plasma osmolality was lower in the hyperprolactinaemic animals than in the controls. No such difference was observed in the morning. 7. Blood volume was greater in the hyperprolactinaemic rats than in the controls, but the haematocrits were the same. 8. These findings indicate prolactin may have a primary dipsogenic activity.