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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staffProlactinoma is a condition in which a usually noncancerous tumor (adenoma) of the pituitary gland in your brain overproduces the hormone prolactin. The major effect of increased prolactin is a decrease in levels of some sex hormones — estrogen in women and testosterone in men.
Although prolactinoma isn't life-threatening, it can impair your vision, cause infertility and produce other effects. Prolactinoma is one of several types of tumors that can develop in your pituitary gland.
Doctors can often effectively treat prolactinoma with medications to restore your prolactin level to normal. Surgery to remove the pituitary tumor also may be an option to treat prolactinoma.
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- Colao A, et al. Medical treatment of prolactinomas. Nature Reviews Endocrinology. 2011;7:267.
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- Cycloset (prescribing information). San Diego, Calif.: VeroScience, LLC; 2010. http://www.veroscience.com/CyclosetFDAapprovedPackageInsert.htm. Accessed Nov. 13, 2012.
- Cabergoline (prescribing information). Sellersville, Pa.: Teva Pharmaceuticals; 2012. http://www.tevagenerics.com/default.aspx?pageid=3364&sortby=ProductName&ProductName=Cabergoline+Tablets&BrandName=Dostinex%C2%AE+Tablets. Accessed Nov. 13, 2012.
- Martinkova J, et al. Impulse control disorders associated with dopaminergic medication in patients with pituitary adenomas. Clinical Neuropharmacology. 2011;34:179.
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