The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of melatonin on lipid metabolism in peri- and postmenopausal women. Forty-six women were enrolled in these studies. The relationship between night-time serum melatonin levels and serum total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol was investigated in 36 women. Night-time serum melatonin levels had a negative correlation with serum total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol, and a loose positive correlation with HDL-cholesterol. To examine the effects of exogenous melatonin on lipid metabolism, serum levels of total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and triglycerides were determined in 10 women before the onset of therapy and after 1 month of oral melatonin administration (1 mg melatonin daily). Melatonin administration significantly increased the serum levels of HDL-cholesterol. These results show that melatonin may influence cholesterol metabolism and suggest that the melatonin administration may become a new medical application for improvement of lipid metabolism and prevention of cardiovascular disease in peri- and postmenopausal women.

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The efficacy of bromocriptine therapy was studied in 84 normoprolactinemic infertile patients. Bromocriptine (2.5–5.0 mg/day) was given for at least 1 month. Bromocriptine therapy was effective in 54 of 84 cases (64%), including 6 of 15 (40%) cases with amenorrhea, 16 of 24 cases (67%) with anovulatory cycle, 9 of 15 cases (60%) with delayed ovulation and 23 of 30 cases (77%) with luteal phase defect. Sixteen cases were able to conceive with bromocriptine alone. Twenty-five patients who did not respond to bromocriptine were treated with a combination therapy consisting of bromocriptine and clomiphene. Of the 25 cases, 14 responded to the therapy, and 6 of them were able to conceive. The response of prolactin to domperidone (10 mg, i.v.) was significantly (p < 0.01) higher in the group responding to bromocriptine than in the nonresponding group. These results indicate that the administration of bromocriptine is an effective therapy for patients with normoprolactinemic endocrine disorders, and that domperidone may be useful in selecting the candidates for bromocriptine therapy.

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