Nutrition Health Chat: Tuesday, Dec. 8th, 5-6 PM Eastern. Learn how vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients affect your health. Free live Q&A. Join us!
Member Comments are provided by individuals and reflect their personal opinions only. Under NO circumstances should you act on any advice or opinion posted in this forum. ALWAYS check with your personal physician before taking any action regarding your health! MedHelp International and our partners, sponsors and affiliates have no obligation to monitor any comments posted on this site, or the content and/or accuracy of such exchanges. MedHelp International does not endorse the views of any user.
Prolactin
by SarahB79, Aug 11, 2008 10:35AM
I am having an MRI with contrast due to recently finding high plrolactin levels. This has been ongoing for a few years after lactating for several years.
I found an article writin by a fertility dr. in my area... here is an excerpt from it.... my question is at the end of my post.
Towards that end, I think it is very important to discuss serum prolactin levels in various diseases. While any process causing hyperprolactinemia may present with a variety of elevations, I think it is worthy to note that most prolactin secreting tumors will present with a relatively highly elevated prolactin levels, frequently greater than 100 ng/ml. Traditional medical teaching for many years dictated that patients with serum prolactin levels less that 100 ng/ml do not need evaluation of the central nervous system. However a review of the literature will demonstrate that the vast majority of infiltrating hypothalamic diseases, as well as life threatening brain tumors resulting in hyperprolactinemia, fall into the mildly elevated prolactin range with levels frequently between 40 and 100 ng/ml of serum prolactin. For this reason, if I had to limit the number of scans I was doing, I would preferentially image those patients with mild prolactin elevations. I believe that all patients with hyperprolactinemia deserve a imaging study of the central nervous system. However, patients with significantly elevated prolactin levels almost always have a prolactin screening tumor which should respond to medical therapy. It is the patients with modest elevations and other life threatening conditions whom we do not want to miss during the clinical evaluation of the process. http://www.cincinnatifertility.com/Doctors_Section/Hyperprolactinemia.htm
In the mildly elvated range he talks about... what type of other hypothalamic diseases and brain tumors is he referring to that could also elevate prolactin?
I found an article writin by a fertility dr. in my area... here is an excerpt from it.... my question is at the end of my post.
Towards that end, I think it is very important to discuss serum prolactin levels in various diseases. While any process causing hyperprolactinemia may present with a variety of elevations, I think it is worthy to note that most prolactin secreting tumors will present with a relatively highly elevated prolactin levels, frequently greater than 100 ng/ml. Traditional medical teaching for many years dictated that patients with serum prolactin levels less that 100 ng/ml do not need evaluation of the central nervous system. However a review of the literature will demonstrate that the vast majority of infiltrating hypothalamic diseases, as well as life threatening brain tumors resulting in hyperprolactinemia, fall into the mildly elevated prolactin range with levels frequently between 40 and 100 ng/ml of serum prolactin. For this reason, if I had to limit the number of scans I was doing, I would preferentially image those patients with mild prolactin elevations. I believe that all patients with hyperprolactinemia deserve a imaging study of the central nervous system. However, patients with significantly elevated prolactin levels almost always have a prolactin screening tumor which should respond to medical therapy. It is the patients with modest elevations and other life threatening conditions whom we do not want to miss during the clinical evaluation of the process. http://www.cincinnatifertility.com/Doctors_Section/Hyperprolactinemia.htm
In the mildly elvated range he talks about... what type of other hypothalamic diseases and brain tumors is he referring to that could also elevate prolactin?
Post Comment
Related Communities
Recent Videos
Related Expert Forums
Recent Activity
Most Popular Trackers
RSS
Expert Activity
Community Members
Prolactin: 50.5 ng/mL (range non-pregnant 3.0 - 30.0)
TSH, 3rd generation: 4.55 (range .40 - 4.5)
Thyroid Peroxidas Antibodies 42 (range < 35 IU/mL)