title: Prolactin in men's health and disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To review physiology of prolactin (PRL), cause and managment of hyperprolactinemia, and discuss evolving diverse roles of PRL in men's health.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Hyperprolactinemia can be physiologically found after sexual activities, exercise, lactation, during pregnancy, and after stressful venipuncture. Elevated PRL can be caused by medications use, renal failure, hypothyroidism, and by prolactinoma - PRL secreting tumors. Symptomatic hyperprolactinemia and prolactinomas should be treated to lower PRL levels, decrease tumor size, and restore gonadal function. Three modes of treatment are typically utilized: pharmacological, radiosurgery with gamma radiation, and external beam radiation. Pharmacological treatment of prolactinomas is mainly based on dopamine agonists. The most frequently used dopamine agonists are bromocriptine and cabergoline. Cabergoline becoming the preferred drug in the treatment of prolactinomas because of higher response rate and less side-effects. Bromocriptine has been recently approved to improve glycemic control in diabetes mellitus.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  PRL plays a diverse role in men's reproduction and health. Detecting and treating elevated PRL may not only improve infertility and hypogonadism but also have a positive effect on the metabolic profile of patient and control of glycemic control and metabolic profile - an important advantage considering dramatic and worldwide increase in obesity and diabetes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology and Reproductive Medicine, Male Infertility Genetics Laboratory, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bolyakov
authors.forename: Darius A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Paduch
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006966:Hyperprolactinemia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D054526:Men's Health; D010911:Pituitary Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000628:therapy; D011379:Prognosis; D011388:Prolactin / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D015175:Prolactinoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000628:therapy; D012098:Reproduction; D060728:Reproductive Health; D015854:Up-Regulation
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D011388:Prolactin