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A prolactinoma is a tumor of the pituitary gland that produces the hormone prolactin.It is the most common type of functioning pituitary tumor. [1] Symptoms of prolactinoma are due to abnormally high levels of prolactin in the blood (hyperprolactinemia), or due to pressure of the tumor on surrounding brain tissue and/or the optic nerves.
Hyperprolactinemia, characterized by abnormally high levels of prolactin, may cause galactorrhea (production and spontaneous flow of breast milk), infertility, and menstrual disruptions in women. In men, it can lead to hypogonadism, infertility and erectile dysfunction. Prolactin is crucial for milk production during pregnancy and lactation.
Prolactin has a wide variety of effects. It stimulates the mammary glands to produce milk (): increased serum concentrations of prolactin during pregnancy cause enlargement of the mammary glands and prepare for milk production, which normally starts when levels of progesterone fall by the end of pregnancy and a suckling stimulus is present.
Pituitary tumors occur in 15 to 42% of MEN 1 patients. From 25 to 90% are prolactinomas. About 25% of pituitary tumors secrete growth hormone or growth hormone and prolactin. Excess prolactin may cause galactorrhea, and excess growth hormone causes acromegaly clinically indistinguishable from sporadically occurring acromegaly. About 3% of ...
Direct treatment is geared toward resolving hyperprolactinemic symptoms or reducing tumor size. Patients on medications that cause hyperprolactinaemia should have them withdrawn if possible. Patients with hypothyroidism should be given thyroid hormone replacement therapy. When symptoms are present, medical therapy is the treatment of choice ...
Hypoprolactinemia can result from autoimmune disease, [2] hypopituitarism, [1] growth hormone deficiency, [2] hypothyroidism, [2] excessive dopamine action in the tuberoinfundibular pathway and/or the anterior pituitary, and ingestion of drugs that activate the D 2 receptor, such as direct D 2 receptor agonists like bromocriptine and pergolide, and indirect D 2 receptor activators like ...
This disorder is more common in females than males. Although the tumor itself may not cause symptoms, the tumor can cause an increased production of prolactin and decreased levels of estrogen and testosterone. [3] Symptoms of both sexes could include osteoporosis, infertility, or a decrease in sexual desire. Lactotropic Cells (in blue)
The term "male lactation" is not used in human medicine. It has been used in popular literature, such as Louise Erdrich's The Antelope Wife, to describe the phenomenon of male galactorrhea, which is a human condition unrelated to childbirth or nursing. Newborn babies of both sexes can occasionally produce milk.