Urinary Calcium Excretion in Hyperprolactinaemia

Abstract

Sub-department ofEndocrine Pathology, Alder Hey Hospital, Eaton Road, Liverpool, LI2 2AP (Received 12 September 1977) Injections of ovine prolactin into normal subjects and certain patients increases the urinary excretion of calcium (McCalister & Welbourn, 1962; Beck, Gonda, Hamid, Morgen, Rubinstein & McGarry, 1964) and hypercalcaemia as well as hypercalcinuria is produced after administration of prolactin to experimental animals (Mahajan, Robinson & Horrobin, 1974). The levels of calcium in the serum and urine of patients with hyperprolactinaemia have therefore been studied. Fourteen patients (one man, 13 women) were selected on the basis of raised levels of prolactin in the plasma. Clinical details are shown in Table 1. None of the patients had primary hypothyroidism and none was taking drugs except the man (S.B.), who was on cortisone and thyroxine replacement therapy. During the study, patients had their normal diet either at home or in hospital. Plasma prolactin was estimated by radioimmunoassay