title: Prolactin may be increased in newly diagnosed celiac children and adolescents and decreases after 6 months of gluten-free diet.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Prolactin (PRL) is produced by the anterior pituitary gland. It exerts its role on the breast gland but also plays a modulatory role in autoimmune mechanisms. Celiac disease (CD) is a gluten-sensitive autoimmune enteropathy sometimes associated with autoimmune endocrinopathies. No data on PRL levels in CD patients are available at diagnosis, and no conclusive data are reported.
  
  
  METHODS
  We aimed to evaluate PRL secretion in newly diagnosed CD pediatric patients and, in the case of hyperprolactinemia, any changes in its levels while the patients were on a gluten-free diet (GFD). We recruited 67 patients and 39 healthy controls.
  
  
  RESULTS
  PRL was statistically higher in the CD patients (13.5±9.2 ng/ml) than in the controls (8.5±5.0 ng/ml). In the CD group, PRL was inversely correlated with the age at diagnosis (r=-0.326; p=0.007). In patients with hyperprolactinemia at diagnosis, PRL decreased after 6 months of GFD.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This paper confirms that PRL may be increased at diagnosis of CD and shows, for the first time, that it decreases after a short course of GFD. Changes in the levels of inflammatory cytokines in CD may account for changes in PRL levels. Younger patients seem more prone to develop hyperprolactinemia than older ones.
authors.affiliation: Pediatrics Unit, IRCCS Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza, San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy.
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Delvecchio
authors.forename: Maria Felicia
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Faienza
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lonero
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Rutigliano
authors.forename: Ruggiero
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Francavilla
authors.forename: Luciano
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cavallo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D002446:Celiac Disease / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000178:diet therapy*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood; D055050:Diet, Gluten-Free; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006966:Hyperprolactinemia / Q000097:blood / Q000209:etiology; D008297:Male; D011388:Prolactin / Q000097:blood*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D011388:Prolactin