How much do you know about the dangers of hyperprolactinemia?

Prolactin is also called prolactin, which is a polypeptide hormone secreted by the pituitary gland. Normal pregnant women will secrete more in the late pregnancy and lactation period. If the prolactin level exceeds 20 ng/ml in non-pregnant women or non-breast development period, it is a symptom of high prolactin. High prolactin in non-pregnant women may cause harm to health. How much do you know about the hazards of hyperprolactinemia? The following editor will introduce it to you in detail.

Dangers of high prolactin

The secretion of prolactin is affected by many factors. In addition, drugs such as progesterone, dexamethasone, adrenal cortisol, and acute stress such as strenuous physical activity and trauma can cause increased secretion of prolactin.

If the level of prolactin in the blood is too high, it is called hyperprolactinemia. These people often have symptoms of breast tenderness, galactorrhea, scanty menstruation or even amenorrhea. Therefore, it is sometimes called galactorrhea-amenorrhea syndrome. Among patients with hyperprolactinemia, about 1/4 are caused by pituitary tumors, and some may be caused by hypothalamic and pituitary dysfunction, hypothyroidism, renal insufficiency, malignant tumors in other parts of the body, chest wall damage and drug effects.

Increased prolactin can significantly inhibit the normal secretion of pituitary gonadotropins (such as follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone), affecting the normal development of follicles, ovulation function and pregnancy function. Reduced follicle-stimulating hormone secretion will directly lead to developmental disorders of ovarian follicles, weak or incomplete development (B-ultrasound observation shows follicles with a diameter of less than 18 mm or less), and ultimately inability to conceive; while insufficient secretion of progesterone (luteinizing hormone) causes luteal dysfunction, making it difficult to maintain the fertilized follicles to continue implantation and development (such as testing the basal body temperature shows a low temperature phase below 36.8°C), making it difficult to get pregnant, and even if pregnancy occurs, miscarriage is likely to occur.