Ultradian (12-hr) significant component in serum prolactin of healthy women and patients with fibrocystic mastopathy.

The 4-hr sampling schedule for a single day demonstrated a prominent circadian rhythm of prolactin (PRL) in clinically healthy women and in mastopathy (FM) patients (with mesor hyperprolactinemia). This chapter reports on differences in time series of serum PRL observed between FM patients and healthy women in the follicular and luteal phases. Thirteen FM patients and six healthy women (controls) were sampled at intervals of 60 min for 24 hr in the two phases of the menstrual cycle. Serum PRL was determined by RIA. The results from spectral analysis of these data showed prominent circadian rhythms and an ultradian (12-hr) significant component in the PRL of controls and FM patients in both phases of the menstrual cycle. The acrophases of the 12-hr rhythms, however, clearly differed in controls and FM patients.