Abstract
Nomifensine, TRH and insulin-induced hypoglycemia tests were carried out in 37 cases of hyperprolactinemia: 25 were due to PRL-secreting pituitary tumors, 6 cases to GH and PRL-secreting pituitary tumors and 6 to pituitary and suprasellar non secreting tumors. Nomifensine failed to suppress the serum PRL in all subjects and PRL responses to TRH and insulin-induced hypoglycemia were impaired in all patients, irrespective of the origin of hyperprolactinemia. The uniform pattern of PRL response to the above tests in patients with hyperprolactinemia of variable etiology suggests that none of them is specific for prolactinomas.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Faglia G., Beck-Peccoz P., Travaglini P., Ambrosi B., Rondena M., Paracchi A., Spada A., Weber G., Bara R., Bonzin A. Functional studies in hyperprolactinemic states In: Crosignani P.G., Robyn C. (Eds), Prolactin and human reproduction. Academic Press, London - New York, 1977, p. 225.
Frantz A.G. Prolactin N.Engl. J. Med., 298: 201, 1978.
Cowden E.A., Ratcliffe J.G., Thomson J.A., Macpherson P., Doyle D., Teasdale G.M. Tests of prolactin secretion in diagnosis of prolactinomas. Lancet 1: 1155, 1979.
Assies J., Schellekens A.P.M., Touber J.L. The value of an intravenous TRH test for the diagnosis of tumoural prolactinaemia. Acta Endocrinol. (Kbh) 94: 439, 1980.
Müller E.E., Genazzani A.R., Murru S. Nomifensine: diagnostic test in hyperprolactinemic states. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 47: 1352, 1978.
Hunt P., Kannengiesser M.H., Raynaud J.P. Nomifensine a new potent inhibitor of dopamine uptake into synaptosomes from rat corpus striatum. J. Pharm. Pharmacol. 26: 370, 1974.
Gerhards H.G., Carenzi A., Costa E. Effects of Nomifensine on motor activity, dopamine turnover rate and cyclic 3′, 5′ — adenosine monophosphate concentrations of rat striatum. Naunyn Schmiedebergs Arch. Pharmacol. 286: 49, 1974.
Genazzani A.R., Camanni F., Massara F., Picciolini E., Cocchi D., Belforte L., Müller E.E. A new pharmacological approach to the diagnosis of hyperprolactinemic states: the nomifensine test. Acta Endocrinol. (Kbh) 93: 139, 1980.
Müller E.E., Genazzani A.R., Camanni F., Cocchi D., Massara F., Picciolini E., Locatelli V., Molinatti G.M. Neuropharmacological approach to the diagnosis and treatment of secreting pituitary adenomas. In: Faglia G., Giovanelli M.A., Mc Leod R.M. (Eds), Pituitary microadenomas Academic Press. London, New York, 1980, p. 34.
Ferrari C., Crosignani P.G., Caldara R., Picciotti M.C., Malinverni A., Barattini B., Rampini P., Telloli P. Failure of Nomifensine administration to discriminate between tumorous and non tumorous hyperprolactinaemia. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 50: 23, 1979.
Moriondo P., Travaglini P., Nissim M., Faglia G. Evaluation of two inhibitory tests (nomifensine and L- dopa + carbidopa) for the diagnosis of hyperprolacti nemic states Clin. Endocrinol. (Oxf.) 13: 525, 1980.
Kamoi K., Tchuchida I.. Stato H., Tanaka R., Ishiguro T., Kaneko K., Iwasaki Y., Shibata A. Comparison of the response in the Nomifensine test with hyperprolactinaemia du to prolactin-secreting pituitary tumors and non prolactin secreting hypothalamic tumors. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 53: 1285, 1981.
Camanni F., Genazzani A.R., Massara F., De Leo V., Molinatti G.M., Muller E.E. Prolactin responsiveness to Nomifensine in patients with hyperprolactinemia of tumorous or uncertain etiology. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 51: 650, 1980.
Horvath E., Kovacs K. Ultrastructural classification of pituitary adenomas Canad. J. Neurol. Sci. 3: 9, 1976.
Capella C., Usellini L., Frigerio B., Buffa R., Fontana P., Solcia E. Argyrophil pituitary tumors showing TSH cells or small granule cells. Vjrchows Arch. (Path. Anat.) 381: 295, 1979.
Fine S.A., Frohman L.A. Loss of central nervous system component of dopaminergic inhibition of prolactin secretion in patients with prolactin secreting pituitary tumours. J. Clin. Invest. 61: 973, 1978.
Van Loon G.R. A defect in catecholamine neurons in patients with prolactin secreting pituitary adenoma. Lancet 2: 868, 1978.
Quigley M.E., Judd S.J., Gilliland G.B., Yen S.S.C. Effects of a dopamine antagonist on the release of go nadotropin and prolactin in normal women and women with hyperprolactinemic anovulation. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 48: 718, 1979.
Scanlon M.F., Pourmand M., Mc Gregor A.M., Rodriguez- Arnao M.D., Hall K., Gomez-Pan A., Hall R. Some current aspects of clinical and experimental neuroendocrinology with particular reference to growth hormone, thyrotropin and prolactin. J. Endocrinol. Invest. 2: 307, 1979.
Beck W., Hancks J.L., Wuttke W. Increased sensivity of dopaminergic inhibition of luteining hormone release in immature and castrated female rats. Endocrinology 102: 837, 1978.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Iannotta, F., Fachinetti, P., Fachinetti, A. et al. Nomifensine, TRH and insulin-induced hypoglycemia tests in the diagnosis of prolactinomas. J Endocrinol Invest 6, 353–358 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03347615
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03347615