Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
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.
[20] [4] [21] During pregnancy, prolactin increases can range up to 600 ng/mL, depending on estrogen and progesterone concentrations. After delivery, progesterone concentrations decrease, and prolactin levels drop. Only during nipple stimulation will prolactin levels rise, allowing for milk production. [22]
The higher the prolactin level the lower the chance of normalizing serum prolactin. In the best medical centers, surgery corrects prolactin levels in 80% of patients with a serum prolactin less than 250 ng/ml. Even in patients with large tumors that cannot be completely removed, drug therapy may be able to return serum prolactin to the normal ...
A prolactin cell (also known as a lactotropic cell, epsilon acidophil, lactotrope, lactotroph, mammatroph, mammotroph) is a cell in the anterior pituitary which produces prolactin (a peptide hormone) in response to hormonal signals including dopamine (which is inhibitory), thyrotropin-releasing hormone and estrogen (especially during pregnancy), which are stimulatory.
Unscheduled cesarean delivery and long labor duration place excessive pressure on the mother and the fetus. [14] In these cases, high perceived pressure raises cortisol levels inside the body. [18] [21] The elevated level of the stress hormone affects the secretion of lactogenic hormones in the mother, which delays the onset of lactation. [22]
By the twentieth week of gestation, mammary glands have reached a sufficient level of development to generate milk components as a result of stimulation by prolactin. [33] Post-lactational involution refers to the process of breast tissue returning to its normal state after milk production stops due to a decrease in prolactin levels. [33]
The most common complex found in blood consists of prolactin and immunoglobulin G (IgG). [1] While the free prolactin hormone is active, prolactin in the macroprolactin complex does not have any biological activity in the body and is considered benign. [2] However, macroprolactin is detected by all Laboratory tests that measure prolactin in ...
One cause of pituitary growth associated with the risk of Sheehan's syndrome is the hyperplasia of lactotrophs which produce prolactin, the hormone responsible for milk production. [5] Other hormone-secreting cells of the pituitary undergo rapid growth in pregnant women as well, which contribute to the gland's enlargement. [10]