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Hyperprolactinemia
Make it clearer
Hyperprolactinemia means having a prolactin level in the blood above normal. Prolactin is a hormone, and most labs put its upper limit between 15 and 20 nanograms per milliliter.
That hormone comes from only one place: the lactotrophs, cells in the anterior pituitary, the gland that hangs beneath the brain. And the way it is controlled is not intuitive, because the control is a brake rather than an accelerator. The hypothalamus, sitting right above, sends dopamine, and that dopamine reaches the lactotrophs and keeps the brakes on them constantly. Dopamine is a foot on the brake; lift it and prolactin rises on its own.
That explains a familiar situation: some medications, such as neuroleptics, block the dopamine receptor, and blocking it releases the brake, so prolactin rises. The typical features of hyperprolactinemia are reproductive dysfunction and galactorrhea, which is milk leaking in the absence of breastfeeding.
In brief
Hyperprolactinemia is a prolactin level above the upper limit of normal, which most labs set between 15 and 20 ng/mL.
The hypothalamus restrains prolactin with dopamine, which reaches the lactotrophs of the anterior pituitary and inhibits prolactin release.
Dopamine is a foot on the brake; lift it and prolactin rises on its own.
That is why drugs that block the dopamine receptor raise prolactin; the typical features of hyperprolactinemia are reproductive dysfunction and galactorrhea.
Sources (1)
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingHyperprolactinemia, StatPearlsPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
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