The food-entrained prolactin and cortisol release in late pregnancy and prolactinoma patients.

Abrupt and concomitant increments in circulating cortisol and PRL levels in association with food intake at noon were observed in hyperprolactinemic pregnant women. During late pregnancy, the quantitative release was at least 12-fold greater for PRL and substantially more for cortisol compared to values in nonpregnant women. In contrast, patients with hyperprolactinemia due to prolactinoma exhibited an absence of the PRL response to the noon meal and a significantly smaller rise in cortisol, suggesting an independent mechanism for the release of these two hormones due to food ingestion. These observations may be important for future elucidation of neuroendocrine links between feeding and metabolic homoeostasis in pregnancy.