title: The effects of bromocriptine on preventing postpartum flare in systemic lupus erythematosus patients from South China.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Prolactin plays an important role on the disease flare of postpartum SLE patients. 76 pregnant SLE patients were enrolled in this study to evaluate the efficacy of bromocriptine (an inhibitor of prolactin secretion) on preventing the postpartum disease relapse.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients were randomly divided into the treatment group (bromocriptine, 2.5 mg oral, twice a day for 14 days after delivery) and the control group. All the patients were followed up for 12 months. Clinical features were recorded every 4 weeks. Serum prolactin and estradiol levels were measured at the second week and the second month after delivery. The endpoint of the study was disease relapse and defined when SLEDAI score increased by ≥3 points from the antenatal baseline.
  
  
  RESULTS
  (1) Serum levels of prolactin and estradiol decreased significantly in bromocriptine treatment group at the second week (P < 0.001) and second month (P < 0.05) after delivery compared to control group. (2) The relapse rate of the treatment group was lower than the control group (χ (2) = 4.68, P = 0.0305).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Two weeks of oral bromocriptine treatment in postpartum SLE patients may relieve the disease from hyperprolactinemia and hyperestrogenemia and may be beneficial in preventing the patients from disease relapse.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology & Clinical Immunology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
authors.forename: Qiu
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Qian
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology & Clinical Immunology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liuqin
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology & Clinical Immunology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hao
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology & Clinical Immunology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shiwen
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology & Clinical Immunology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
authors.forename: Zhan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhongping
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology & Clinical Immunology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
authors.forename: Chen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dongying
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology & Clinical Immunology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
authors.forename: Lian
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology & Clinical Immunology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
authors.forename: Xu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Hanshi
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology & Clinical Immunology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xiuyan
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology & Clinical Immunology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
authors.forename: Ye
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yujin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001971:Bromocriptine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002681:China; D018491:Dopamine Agonists / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004958:Estradiol / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006966:Hyperprolactinemia / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000188:drug therapy*; D049590:Postpartum Period; D011247:Pregnancy; D011388:Prolactin / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism; D011897:Random Allocation; D055502:Secondary Prevention / Q000379:methods*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D000067251:Symptom Flare Up
chemical_list: D018491:Dopamine Agonists; D001971:Bromocriptine; D004958:Estradiol; D011388:Prolactin