What are the causes of high prolactin in women?

Many women have high prolactin levels. Although prolactin can promote breast growth and development, increase milk volume, and balance hormone secretion levels in the body, if women have high prolactin levels, it will have many adverse effects. Faced with this situation, people need to understand the reasons in detail and then take effective measures to treat it in time. Here are the reasons for high prolactin in women.

Prolactin, also known as prolactin, is one of the hormones secreted by the pituitary gland. When there is too much prolactin in the body, it can inhibit the secretion of pituitary gonadotropin and directly affect the synthesis of sex hormones in the ovaries, causing low serum estrogen levels, thereby causing ovarian dysfunction, decreased ovulation, or anovulation and galactorrhea, or even amenorrhea, leading to infertility.

The first category of causes of high prolactin in women is: "obstruction" category; the second category of causes of high prolactin in women is: "reduction" category; the third category of causes of high prolactin in women is: "stimulation" category. Western medicine has no good way to treat this disease. Traditional Chinese medicine treatment can usually achieve satisfactory results by following the principles of relieving depression, nourishing the body and dispersing blood stasis.

Influencing factors

1. Nerve stimulation: Irritation of certain parts of the skin, especially the chest, including severe pain caused by peripheral nerve damage, can be transmitted to the hypothalamus through nerves and cause an increase in prolactin. Such as chest surgery, burns, shingles on the chest and back, etc.

2. Pituitary disorders: mainly various tumors in the pituitary area. In addition, some cases of empty sella syndrome and hyperpituitarism can also cause galactorrhea and amenorrhea.

3. Drug factors: Sedatives that act on the central nervous system, such as chlorpromazine, morphine, etc., can reduce the content of catecholamines in the hypothalamus, thereby reducing the activity of prolactin-releasing factor produced by the hypothalamus. Antihypertensive drugs such as methyldopa and reserpine can inhibit the release of prolactin inhibitory factor. Metoclopramide can stimulate excessive secretion of prolactin from the pituitary gland.

4. Primary hypothyroidism: When the thyroid function is hypothyroid, the information of insufficient thyroid secretion is transmitted to the hypothalamus through feedback, causing the hypothalamus to produce a large amount of thyrotropin-releasing factor. This factor, while stimulating the pituitary gland to secrete thyroid-stimulating hormone, can also stimulate the excessive secretion of pituitary prolactin and cause galactorrhea.

5. Hypothalamic disorders: Diseases of the hypothalamus and adjacent areas, such as encephalitis, craniopharyngeal tumor, pineal tumor, partial hypothalamic infarction, pseudotumor cerebri, pituitary stalk transection, etc., can cause a decrease in prolactin-inhibiting factor produced by the hypothalamus, or an increase in prolactin-releasing factor and thyroid-stimulating hormone-releasing factor. The former can cause prolactin to be produced blindly due to the loss of inhibition, while the latter two directly promote the increase of prolactin production.