Potentiation of sulpiride-induced prolactin secretion by sodium deprivation in man

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Abstract
: Previous studies suggest that prolactin is not an important osmoregulatory hormone in man, while aldosterone is well known to be important in osmoregulation. The present investigation was undertaken to ascertain whether serum osmotic changes affect pituitary prolactin secretion following sulpiride administration. Five normal subjects were placed on a constant isocaloric diet with different sodium content. Serum prolactin and aldosterone level were measured by specific radioimmunoassay. The basal serum level of prolactin was unaffected by changes in sodium content of the diet, in contrast to the basal level of aldosterone. On the other hand, the maximum levels of serum prolactin in response to sulpiride (50 mg, im) were significantly higher on a low sodium diet (3 g of salt/day) than on a control diet (12– 15 g of salt/day). When the content of diet changed from low salt to high salt (25 g of salt/day), sulpiride-induced prolactin response decreased, though it was not significantly lower than that on a control diet. However, sulpiride administration could not stimulate aldosterone secretion under any of the various sodium contents of the diet. The present study provides evidence that lowering of serum osmolarity stimulates serum prolactin response to sulpiride administration in man and this response is not modulated by aldosterone secretion.