Effects of chronic sulpiride-induced hyperprolactinemia on menstrual cycles of normal women.

We investigated the influence of chronic (27-65 days) sulpiride-induced hyperprolactinemia on the menstrual cycles of four normal women. The hyperprolactinemia (206.4 ng/mL, the average of the mean values of each subject obtained by sulpiride treatment) suppressed the LH surge and the secretion of plasma estradiol-17 beta and progesterone to their basal levels. The results suggest that the endocrine changes in normal women with sulpiride-induced hyperprolactinemia are similar to those in women with spontaneous hyperprolactinemia. Sulpiride-induced hyperprolactinemia may be useful as a model for studying spontaneous hyperprolactinemia.