Hypoglycemia-induced prolactin release

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Abstract
Recent advances in neurosurgical techniques have made it possible to remove pituitary adenomas with minimal morbidity and mortality. These developments focused attention on early recognition of pituitary tumors, before the onset of visual disturbances or endocrine dysfunction. The prolactin response to insulin-induced hypoglycemia was studied as an aid in the evaluation of patients with hypothalamic and pituitary disease. Regular insulin 0.1 units/kg was administered i.v. to normal subjects, patients with pituitary tumors and patients with idiopathic galactorrhea. While the normal subjects regularly showed a prolactin response to hypoglycemia, this was observed infrequently in the other groups. Prolactin nonresponsiveness to insulin hypoglycemia may reflect nonspecific pituitary damage or may represent an abnormality specific to patients with galactorrhea. The data suggest that the prolactin response to insulin hypoglycemia is a sensitive index of hypothalamic-pituitary dysfunction.

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