When and how should hyperprolactinemia be treated?
Hyperprolactinemia affects the gonadotropic axis. Its results in women include amenorrhea, menstrual disorders and galactorrhea; in men, the frequency of macroadenomas tends to lead to problems related to sexual performance or tumor volume. Radioimmunoassays make diagnosis easy. Secondary causes of hyperprolactinemia, drug reactions in particular, must be ruled out before MRI exploration to look for a pituitary tumor. First-line treatment of prolactin adenomas is based on the use of dopaminergic agonists, especially cabergoline, because of their excellent efficacy and the risk of relapse following surgery. For patients who wish to become pregnant, the dopaminergic agonist must be continued during pregnancy for those with macroadenoma and withdrawn for women with microadenoma. When hyperprolactinemia is induced by anti-psychotic agents, treatment requires an in-depth assessment.
