Altered pituitary hormone secretion in patients with pseudocyesis.

Pituitary function studies were performed in two patients with pseudocyesis, one of whom was reinvestigated during a recurrent episode. There was an exaggerated prolactin response to thyrotropin-releasing hormone, an aberrant growth hormone increase, and an impaired growth hormone response to dopamine receptor agonists (apomorphine or bromocriptine). These findings point to a derangement in hypothalamic-pituitary function in pseudocyesis and may indicate an underlying impairment in dopaminergic function in this disorder.