Advances on prolactin (author's transl)

Prolactin has been lately singled-out among the pituitary hormones, and as such the object of considerable research in the past 15 years. The frequency of prolactin secreting adenomes is established now. The responsability of iatrogenic factors (neuroleptics, oral contraceptives) in some hyperprolactineamias is a known fact. The study of the inhibiting dopaminergic system was a landmark in the treatment of hyperprolactinaemia. During the recent Nice Congress, some issues remained unsettled on the physiological activities of prolactin. The matter is clearer when its comes to prolactin secretion. In equilibrium between inhibiting and stimulant factors, the secretion is controlled by the CNS, influenced by the hormonal environment, and its timing is the object of a retrocontrol. This is a very instructive pattern in endocrinology.