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Serum prolactin levels in eighty patients with sarcoidosis
Author(s) -
NAKAO KIYOHIDE,
NOMA KEIZO,
SATO BUNZO,
YANO SABURO,
YAMAMURA WICH,
TACHIBANA TERUO
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
european journal of clinical investigation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.164
H-Index - 107
eISSN - 1365-2362
pISSN - 0014-2972
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2362.1978.tb00806.x
Subject(s) - hyperprolactinaemia , sarcoidosis , prolactin , medicine , radioimmunoassay , basal (medicine) , endocrinology , hormone , insulin
. Serum prolactin levels were measured by radio‐immunoassay in eighty patihts (thirty‐four males, forty‐six females) with sarcoidosis before treatment. In twelve patients (15%) serum prolactin levels were more than two standard deviations above the mean of normal subjects. Hyperprolactinaemia was found most frequently (22%) in patients with radiological stage 11; however, 14% of patients with stage I also had elevated serum prolactin levels. In most cases serum prlactin levels fell to within the normal range after treatment with corticosteroid in parallel with improvement of intrathoracic lesions. These findings suggest that hyperprolactinaemia may be due to hypothalamic involvement by sarcoid granulomata. We conclude that the measurement of basal serum prolactin levels using radioimmunoassay is a sensitive and practical method for screening patients with sarcoidosis for hypothalmic lesions.