[Prolactin. New clinical importance of a phylogenetically old hormone]

New clinical significance of a phylogenetically old hormone. Recently, human Prolactin(hPRL) has been established as an anterior pituitary hormone which can be separated from growth hormone. By radioimmunoassay of hPRL it could be shown that many pituitary tumors formerly thought to be hormonally inactive, were in fact producing prolactin. Hyperprolactinaemia, with and without pituitary tumors, causing amenorrhea and galactorrhea in females, and loss of libido and impotence in males, can be treated effectively by neurosurgical procedures in tumor cases, or by medical inhibition of hPRL-secretion with bromocryptin.