Prolactin is a hormone that shows in men. What is the normal level of prolactin in the male body. Possible reasons for the increase in prolactin

Pink, smooth heels are the dream of women and girls of any age, but not everyone has it come true even with good foot skin care. Cracks that appear on the lateral surface of the feet not only spoil the view, but also cause a persistent feeling of discomfort due to pain when standing for a long time. Pain, although not strong, can spoil the mood.

Dryness of the skin, a decrease in its elasticity, increased growth of the superficial stratum corneum, poor regeneration of the epidermis are factors that contribute to the appearance of cracks in the heels.

The cause of the appearance may be a disease, and not necessarily a skin one. Very often, this problem occurs in people with high blood sugar levels.

No less common cause are endocrine disorders: anemia, hypovitaminosis. Failure of metabolic processes in the body leads to loss of elasticity of the skin and its cracking.

Non-compliance with hygiene, the presence of microdamages on the skin is a loophole for infection. The fungus is the most common skin infection, affecting the skin of the feet, disrupts its structure and reduces regenerative abilities.

Another skin disease - dermatitis is included in the list of causes leading to cracking of the stratum corneum. It is dangerous, first of all, with secondary infections, to which the inflamed skin becomes more susceptible.

Cracks can appear in an absolutely healthy person. They can be provoked by:

  • illiterate use of skin care products;
  • frequent use of abrasive materials to remove the stratum corneum;
  • wearing shoes made of artificial materials, tight, inappropriate size (large);
  • long walks;
  • heavy physical labor performed on the legs.


The correct solution to the problem is a visit to the doctor, a complete examination with the delivery of all necessary tests and treatment of the body as a whole. If you are not ready to spend time visiting the clinic or simply do not have it, you can start treating cracks at home.


AAndE vitamins for skin. Summer is the time when fresh vegetables and fruits can fully fill their need. Include vegetable salads in your diet. No need for complicated recipes.

A simple salad of tomato and sweet bell pepper, seasoned with olive or camelina oil, sprinkled with lemon juice and sprinkled with herbs.

Omega 3 help the skin. Be sure to use:

  • seafood:
  • nuts;
  • pumpkin seeds;
  • sesame seeds;
  • all types of vegetable unrefined oils.

Refusal of junk food. A noticeable improvement in the condition of the skin of the feet can be noticed after a short period of time after quitting smoking, fried foods, strong alcohol, canned vegetables and fruits, fast food.

Water balance- the basis of good skin regeneration and the normal course of all metabolic processes. It is especially important to drink enough fluids (the norm is 2 liters per day) in the summer in the heat and working in an office equipped with an air conditioning system.


Deep cracks formed on the heels are very painful. Let's see how we can help ourselves. It is important to reduce pain and prevent foot infections. Infection can enter through deep cracks.


In the treatment of deep cracks, ointments sold in pharmacies are best of all. Ready-made ointments are dosage forms consisting of a base (fat) and a medicinal substance.

You need to apply them on cleanly washed and wiped dry heels from one to two times a day. The amount is specified in the instructions that come with the drug. If the damage is very deep and poorly washed with water, it is worth treating them with hydrogen peroxide.

If a fungus provoked a problem with the heels, antimycotic agents are prescribed:

  • Nizoral;
  • Mycoterbin;
  • Terbizil.


Gluing a crack with medical glue − original solution Problems. This kind of recipe can be used if there is no inflammation and secondary infection. Wash feet thoroughly and dry. Apply glue dotted along the entire length of the damage.

Drying, it firmly glues the edges. After 7 days, the wounds will heal. Soften the stratum corneum with warm foot baths. Use a pumice stone to remove it. Use pumice correctly. Steam legs. Wipe them dry. With pumice stone, drive not across, but along the cracks.

After finishing the treatment of the heels, be sure to rinse your feet and pat dry with a napkin or towel. Squeeze out a little cream on the damaged skin and rub it in lightly. If you are not lazy and follow these simple procedures for several days, the skin on your heels will become smooth again.


It is easy to prepare an ointment for the treatment of heels at home. For the base, you can take:

  • petrolatum;
  • badger fat;
  • pork fat.

As a therapeutic component of the ointment, you can take vegetables, herbs or fruits. You can adopt a few simple, affordable and very effective recipes.


The healing properties of carrots are well known. It also helps with skin problems. For the base, take 100 g pork fat. Wash the carrots, peel and grate. It should turn out about 100 g. Put the fat in a small container and put it in a water bath.

When it becomes liquid, add chopped carrots. Keep the mixture in the bath for another 15 minutes, then remove, cool, strain using gauze or a sieve with small cells. Pour into a glass container, close the lid. Put in refrigerator. Rub your heels before bed. Before this, wash your feet, soak well in warm water, wipe dry.


Useful properties of calendula, badger fat, celandine are used in the treatment various diseases. If an ointment is prepared on their basis, then it can be used to treat cracked heels. You will need:

  • badger fat - 50 ml;
  • dried and crushed calendula flowers - 1 tsp;
  • celandine dry, chopped - 1 tsp

Everything you need to prepare the ointment can be bought at the pharmacy. Prepare the ointment in a water bath. While the fat is melting, pour the herbs with a small amount of boiling water. After a couple of minutes, you can add them to liquid fat.

Butter takes 30 minutes to cook. Do not bring the mixture to a boil. At the end of this time, the therapeutic fat must be filtered and drained into a container with a tight lid. A refrigerator is suitable for storage. Warm up the ointment before applying.


Baths help soften the stratum corneum, relieve inflammation, and speed up the healing process of the heels. You need to do them daily until the problems go away. There are many simple and interesting recipes which can be interchanged.

For the preparation of foot baths are often used:

  • sea ​​salt;
  • dry white wine;
  • apple cider vinegar;
  • infusions or decoctions of herbs;
  • starch.

Sea salt good antiseptic. The skin from baths with sea salt softens faster, is well removed with pumice. On the pelvis with warm water add 100 g of coarse sea salt and 1 tbsp. soda food.

The duration of the therapeutic bath is 15 minutes. After this time, dry your feet with a towel and lubricate with a pharmacy ointment or prepared with your own hands.

Dry white wine ( 1 tbsp.) Pour into a glass container, pour 1 tbsp. l. dry lime blossom. Put the composition in a water bath and heat to a boil. Strain. Pure broth dilute 1 liter. warm water. Lower your legs into a basin with a wine composition, hold for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes, rub your feet with a hard washcloth and put them in the bath again. Repeat the steps until the medicinal composition has cooled down. Finishing the procedure, wipe your feet dry, lubricate the skin with cream or any vegetable oil.

apple cider vinegar You can simply add it to a bowl of warm water. For 1 liter water 2-3 tbsp. l. vinegar. Vinegar helps fight fungus, helps soften the skin, and speeds up the process of exfoliating dry scales.

Herbal infusions or decoctions can be prepared from several types of herbs. Helps with cracked heels:

  • Oak bark;
  • calendula;
  • sage;
  • chamomile;
  • St. John's wort.

Adhere to the proportion: 1 l. water, 1 tbsp. l. dry herb or mixture of herbs. Pour the grass with a liter of boiling water and keep on fire for almost 30 minutes. Cooled down to comfortable temperature keep the infusion of the foot until it cools completely, this is about half an hour. Wipe your feet dry, massage, spread with cream.

Starch take potato . Dissolve 1 tbsp. l. in 1 l. warm water. Such a bath softens rough skin, heals cracks of any depth. The effect will be noticeable after a week of use. The duration of one bath is at least 20 minutes. To get a greater effect, instead of water, you can take a decoction of herbs:

  • chamomile (1 tsp);
  • calendula (1 tsp);
  • St. John's wort (1 tsp).

Smooth heels at home: video


Peeling is an important part of heel care. Peeling is the process of removing (exfoliating) dead skin layers. Often it is not necessary to do it, once a week is enough.

To remove hard skin from the heels, you can use:

  • pumice;
  • pedicure grater;
  • scrub.

Pumice of natural origin is preferable for heels. It does not cause allergic reactions and does not crumble. After use, it must be rinsed and dried. Store in a dry place. Pathogenic microbes can multiply in wet pumice.

Pedicure graters are easy to use and easy to clean. Scrubs are commercially available and easy to make yourself. The easiest way is to use sea salt of medium fraction, mixed with liquid toilet soap to the state of thick sour cream. Scrub 5 minutes to rub into the heels in a circular motion.

Rinse your feet after peeling. The water must be warm. Dry the skin thoroughly with a towel. Before applying the ointment or cream, it is necessary to treat the cracks.


Hydrogen peroxide is a must have in your first aid kit. This is an excellent antiseptic, it is convenient for them to treat small wounds, abrasions and cracked heels. Pharmacies sell ready-to-use perhydrol (3.3%). Liquid - antiseptic you just need to pour into the cracks. It does not cause pain, foams on contact with the skin, removes dirt and infection. Blot your heels with a clean towel.


The compress can be kept on the heels all night, or you can only 20 minutes. Either option will benefit the skin of the legs. You can use the most unusual products.

For example, after eating a banana, you do not need to throw away the peel. Inner part peel to attach to the damaged part of the heel. Wrap the leg with cling film, put on a sock. You need to keep such a compress for at least 10 hours, so it is more convenient to do it at night. In the morning, unwind the leg and wash it. Make banana compresses for a week.

A quick 30 minute compress can be made from lemon. Cut one medium sized lemon into 2 pieces. Attach the halves to the heels and sit for 30 minutes, then rinse the legs and grease with cream.


How not to make a mistake with the choice of heel cream. You always have to look at the ingredients. The composition should include:

  • urea, it moisturizes the skin and softens keratinized areas;
  • lanolin nourishes and restores at the cellular level;
  • lactic acid moisturizes;
  • natural oils for moisturizing;
  • vitamins (E, B5).

With deep cracks on the heels, creams help well:

  • Bepanthen;
  • Pantoderm;
  • D-panthenol.

Coping with the problem is not easy, but by approaching its solution in a complex way, you can get rid of cracks in a short time. Everything is important: nutrition, proper shoes, fluid intake, personal hygiene. This and daily foot care with the use of ready-made cosmetic and medical products will certainly give a good result - smooth, pink heels.

A cracked heel is not only a cosmetic defect that causes a lot of inconvenience. In some cases, this is a sign of a chronic disease or fungal infection. Women with cracked skin on their feet cannot afford to wear open shoes, feeling uncomfortable at the beach, in the pool, at the gym and in all places where foot exposure is required. Let us consider in more detail why cracks appear on the heels, causes, home treatment with traditional and folk remedies. Let's talk about prevention.

Dust and dirt constantly get into the cracks, provoking a further aggravation of the problem. In addition, even the smallest damage to the foot can cause serious pain, itching, discomfort, burning, because the legs are constantly under stress when walking.

Reason for the appearance

Getting rid of the problem directly depends on the factors that provoked the appearance of cracks. The main reason, especially in the hot season, is the coarsening of the skin due to its drying and a decrease in the elasticity of the epidermis of the foot. The dry, thickened layer of keratinized skin cracks due to a lack of moisture and fat.

Mechanical reasons:

  • illiterate foot care (lack of care, poor hygiene, or, conversely, too frequent procedures to remove rough skin with a pumice stone or blade);
  • walking on hot sand on the beach;
  • wearing uncomfortable, narrow, smaller shoes, especially on high heels;
  • constant load on the legs, for example, due to professional activities (sellers, hairdressers, crawlers, etc.).

Fungal lesions of the skin of the foot - the most common causes cracked heels.

To prevent the occurrence of athlete's foot, dermatologists recommend using antifungal creams, such as Terbinafine, before and after each visit. public places in which you need to walk barefoot (pool, beauty salon, public baths, saunas, steam rooms, beaches).

Chronic pathologies in which cracks can form:

  • diabetes;
  • kidney disease;
  • thyroid disease and endocrine system;
  • hypovitaminosis;
  • anemia.

Prevention

Why cracked heels form is understandable. Based on the reasons, you can minimize the risk of cracking the skin (see photo) by following these recommendations:

  1. Wear comfortable shoes made from natural materials.
  2. Buy socks, stockings and tights from cotton.
  3. Regularly treat the skin with a pumice stone to remove the stratum corneum (1 time per week).
  4. Apply foot cream to your heels daily.
  5. Avoid long walking without shoes on the ground and hot beach, so as not to injure the skin of the feet.
  6. Treat chronic diseases promptly.
  7. Include enough foods rich in vitamins (fruits, herbs, berries) in your diet.

Treatment of cracked heels

Diseases must be ruled out first. internal organs, in which cracks in the heels are one of the side symptoms. To do this, you need to undergo a comprehensive examination. If a pathology is detected, carry out appropriate therapy. She is appointed by specialized specialists: gastroenterologist, nephrologist, endocrinologist, dermatologist.

If a fungus is suspected, laboratory tests are carried out. In addition, antifungal drugs are prescribed, both external and internal use. If the appearance of a problem is associated with mechanical causes, then a set of procedures is carried out at home. It will be necessary to stop wearing uncomfortable shoes, reduce the load on the feet, change the foot care regimen using proven methods traditional medicine.

Now more on how to treat cracked heels at home.

Folk remedies for cracked heels

Honey + Vaseline

Beekeeping products have unique antiseptic, wound healing and regenerating properties. Before going to bed, it is recommended to put a compress with pure honey on the heels, covering a thick layer of the product with cellophane. And in the morning, after washing the feet with warm water, it is recommended to lubricate the skin with Vaseline. Usually, healing occurs within 4-5 days.

Honey butter cream

Mix melted butter with the same amount of liquid natural honey. Apply cream on steamed heels, tie with cellophane, put on cotton socks. Endure all night. 3-7 procedures allow you to painlessly get rid of the problem.

Homemade Crack Cream

Mix 15 ml vegetable oil(corn, olive, grape seeds, almond, pumpkin, walnut, sunflower) with one chicken yolk and 5 ml of table (9%) vinegar. The cream is applied to rough and cracked skin of the feet or corns before going to bed, wrapping the heels in cellophane and putting on socks.

St. John's wort

St. John's wort decoction is used for foot baths for cracks, scratches and other mechanical damage to the skin of the feet. A tablespoon of dried herbs is poured hot water(0.25 l), simmer in a water sauna for about 12 minutes and strain. The procedure time in a warm decoction is 6-7 minutes, after which the feet are soaked with a towel, without rinsing with water.

Oat mask

Cook oatmeal with the addition of flaxseed or soybean oil. Apply the warm mixture on your feet. Put on a plastic bag, warm with woolen socks. The procedure time is 2.5 hours. Next, the feet washed in warm water are lubricated with petroleum jelly or a special pharmaceutical fatty foot cream with the effect of treating microcracks.

White cabbage

Knead the cabbage leaf until the juice appears, wrap the heel with it, fix the compress with a gauze bandage, leave it overnight.

Soda

Local soda baths should be done daily: a tablespoon of powder per 1 liter of warm water.

Flaxseed and potatoes

Mix the washed peelings from potato tubers with a handful of flax. Boil in a small amount of water over low heat until softened. After a soda bath, the feet are immersed in a warm gruel for 20 minutes. Next wash clean water and apply heavy cream.

Fresh medicinal plants

To heal cracks, plantain, marigold, and yarrow leaves mashed into gruel are used. A compress from one or a mixture of herbs is applied to problem areas daily, twice a day, for several hours. Events are held in summer time.

Flour medicinal cakes

Boil a handful of onion peels in a small amount of water. Mix with gruel fresh leaves plantain large (1:1). Add coffee spoon unrefined oil, the same amount of honey and wheat, corn or rice flour. Next, knead a soft dough. The finished cake is applied to the damaged heel after preliminary steaming in soda for the whole night.

Tea tree

Essential oil tea tree is a unique antifungal, antiseptic, deodorant and wound healing product. Add 2-3 drops to a single serving of your foot cream, and the condition of the skin of the feet will improve significantly.

Despite the fact that cracked heels are quite common, getting rid of them at home is quite simple. The main thing is the regularity of procedures and daily care with the application of special nourishing and moisturizing compositions to the feet. They prevent excessive roughening of the skin and cracking of the stratum corneum. A timely complex of therapeutic measures with folk remedies will allow others to admire your well-groomed feet in open shoes.

Prolactin is considered female hormone, as it has an effect on the mammary glands, providing them with the process of lactation. Despite this, the hormone prolactin is also present in men. He plays important role in the regulation of sexual processes.

This hormone plays an important role in male health. Since it contributes to the fulfillment of responsible tasks by his body. The most important include the sexual potential of the stronger sex. Helps him in this and other hormones. They normalize and improve the process of sperm formation.

This hormone is responsible for:

  • Relations between men and women in sexual terms;
  • Production of sex hormones;
  • Sperm activity;
  • The immune defense of the body, contributes to its increase.

Any changes in the content of this hormone are reflected in general condition the body of a man. This can lead to serious violations in different areas especially sexual activity. Quite often, men neglect such changes or are embarrassed to talk about them. They begin to independently take measures in order to restore an erection. For this, special preparations are used. As practice shows, this only exacerbates the situation. Since the main cause of the problem is hormonal failure. It is necessary to restore it, then the potency and libido will again be at a high level.

How much hormone should be in the blood?

The problem of difficult conception today is particularly relevant. Many people face it couples. It mainly leads to a violation of the level of hormones in the male and female body. Deterioration of libido, sexual activity and secondary signs in the stronger sex occurs as a result of hormonal deficiency. In particular, with an insufficient content of prolactin.

If this substance corresponds to the norm, then the processes of maturation of spermatozoa take place fully, testosterone and other substances are stably produced. The most favorable indicator is the content of prolactin in the blood 2.6 - 18ng / ml. If deviations from the norm occur, no matter in which direction, then the man's condition worsens. Various factors influence this process.

How to determine the content of the hormone?

It is possible to determine the content of the hormone only in laboratory conditions. Therefore, you will need to take a blood test. But before doing this, you need to fulfill some conditions. These include:

  • Lack of sexual intercourse within 24 hours before blood sampling;
  • Do not drink alcohol, do not visit the bathhouse and do not perform physical exercise a couple of days before the scheduled procedure;
  • The procedure is carried out in the morning. After waking up, no more than three hours should pass and on an empty stomach;
  • Do not smoke for a couple of hours;
  • The emotional state of the patient should be calm and balanced. Therefore, before the analysis, it is necessary to sit, not to think about the bad, not to be nervous.

If you follow these recommendations, then the result will be as accurate as possible. If you can not fulfill at least one condition, then you should not perform blood sampling. Even the slightest stress and physical strain will affect the testimony received. There will be a high error, and these data will not help in determining the cause of the pathology of the body.

High level: what is the reason?

The amount of the hormone depends on other biological substances that enter the body of a man. This is explained by the fact that prolactin inhibits dopamine. If the concentration of the second increases, then the second decreases. The increase in the amount of prolactin is influenced by hormones such as thyrotropin and serotonin.

As practice shows, men rarely encounter a decrease in the norm of prolactin. Increased content is a problem that is more common. This state got the name hyperprolactinemia. Only a doctor can diagnose it. Moreover, this does not indicate the development of any disease. This is mainly due to the wrong way of life of the stronger sex. Also, do not exclude pathological character Problems.

If a man has an increased level of the hormone in the body, then he will immediately notice it. This process has a number of characteristics. The main ones include:

  • An increase in body weight for no apparent reason;
  • Growth of mammary glands, development of gynecomastia;
  • Head pain that is permanent;
  • Eruption of acne on different parts of the body;
  • Deterioration of libido and potency;
  • Decreased sexual activity and attraction to the opposite sex;
  • Sleep disturbance, insomnia;
  • General deterioration of the condition, accompanied by weakness, emotional distress.

This problem has two ways of origin: physiological or pathological. The reason for the development of the first is the wrong way of life. More specifically, the use of alcoholic beverages, smoking, fatty and sweet foods, exercise. There is also an increase in prolactin after sexual intercourse. It is worth remembering that emotional stress and depression have a similar effect on the state of the hormone. In this case, restoring the norm is quite simple. For this, it is necessary to remove negative factors impact, start eating right. This form of the disease is temporary.

Pathological disorders are caused by more serious causes. For example, tumor formation, metastases, radiation, bad job liver, kidneys, deficiency in the body of vitamins of group B. The signs of this disease are problems with erection and conception of a child. If you do not take measures to improve the patient's condition for a long time, then persistent infertility may develop. It will be quite difficult to cure it, and sometimes not at all possible.

Allocate another reason hyperprolactinemia. It is associated with dysfunction of the pituitary gland. In this case, the representatives of the stronger sex have an increased production of growth hormone, which leads to an excess of the normal limits corresponding to a given age and sex of growth. Only surgical intervention can help to cope with this problem. Elimination of a tumor from the pituitary gland is carried out by the intrazonal method.

How to treat?

It is possible to restore the norm of prolactin in the body of a man. But before doing this, it is necessary to determine the cause of the hormonal failure. This will determine the most effective method treatment. Basically, conservative measures are used for this. Hormone therapy may also be used additionally. To do this, I use preparations derived from testosterone. the main task is to bring the level of prolactin back to normal, correct hypogonadism and lactorrhoea.

In addition, you can apply folk ways troubleshooting. To do this, you will need to introduce certain foods into the diet. This includes plants and vegetables that contain phytohormones. Its largest amount was recorded in calamus, cow parsnip, yarutka and others. They improve the natural process of producing the male sex hormone.

If the rate of prolactin is too high, then herbs that have a progestogenic effect will help. They slow down the production of this hormone by affecting the pituitary gland. Also, do not forget that a violation of the thyroid gland also leads to an increase in the content of the hormone. In this case, other plants are added.

It is important to note that restoring required level content of prolactin will help only regular and stable treatment. At the same time, stress should be excluded, life should be calm and moderate. As a preventive measure for the disease, healthy lifestyle life.

Prolactin is a hormone whose concentration in the blood directly related to the time of day. Its highest level is noted in the morning, and then it decreases. Its minimum value is observed late in the evening. It contributes to the normalization of immunity, concentrates sex hormones and male gametes (sex cells). With its help, you can normalize the sexual activity of the male body.

To analyze the hormone, it is necessary to take the patient's blood.

It can be done any day. It is recommended to undergo such an examination if a man has an overgrowth of glandular breast tissue (gynecomastia) or infertility is observed. This blood test is performed if the patient secretly decreases the number of germ cells (sperms) or impotence occurs.

It is recommended to take an analysis for prolactin if a man has a suspicion of a neoplasm in the pituitary gland.

How to prepare for the study?

In order for the result to be reliable, 3 days before blood sampling, the patient is offered to stop taking medications that change the synthesis of the hormone. If this is not possible, then the person should be warned about the presence of drugs in the blood of the laboratory assistant and the attending physician.

Do not eat high-calorie and fatty foods containing a lot of proteins or carbohydrates. You can not have sex, go to the sauna or steam room. Before analysis, the patient needs to get enough sleep and avoid intense physical labor (sports).

Ask your question to the doctor of clinical laboratory diagnostics

Anna Poniaeva. She graduated from the Nizhny Novgorod Medical Academy (2007-2014) and residency in clinical laboratory diagnostics (2014-2016).

If at least one of the factors was violated, then blood sampling should be postponed for at least three days.

In the morning before the study (from 9 to 11 o'clock), you should refuse to eat, coffee and strong tea.

Prolactin is a hormone produced by the pituitary gland the main role is to stimulate the production of milk in pregnant and lactating women. Measurement of prolactin levels in men may be prescribed for several reasons.

Prolactin is usually measured along with others to:

  • find the cause of galactorrhea (discharge from the mammary glands) in men;
  • to diagnose the cause and infertility in men;
  • detect and diagnose tumors that may be the cause of the production of excess prolactin (prolactinomas), monitor their treatment and possible relapses;
  • assess the function of the anterior pituitary gland or if other disorders of the pituitary gland are suspected.

Testing for prolactin levels in men is especially recommended in the following cases:

  1. The man has symptoms of prolactinoma, such as unexplained headaches, blurred vision and/or unexplained chest pain, swelling and discharge from the nipples.
  2. Men may also be concerned about a decrease in sexual desire (libido), infertility and / or.

If a man has a prolactinoma, prolactin levels should be measured regularly to monitor the condition of the tumor and its response to treatment. After successful therapy, a test for the level of prolactin in the blood is prescribed to be performed at regular intervals so as not to miss a possible recurrence of prolactinoma.

Prolactinomas are often very small. Therefore, along with measuring prolactin, the practitioner may order an MRI of the brain to determine the location and size of the tumor, as well as the size of the pituitary gland.

Prolactin levels in men can be measured along with other hormones, for example, when a doctor suspects other pituitary disorders (eg, hypopituitarism - partial or complete loss of function of the anterior pituitary gland).

When a man has a certain medical condition or is taking medications that can interfere with dopamine production, prolactin levels also need to be monitored.

PROLACTIN: NORM IN MEN BY AGE (TABLE)

Reference values ​​​​of prolactin in the blood in men (mU / ml):

The norm of prolactin in the blood of an adult man or boy should not exceed 407 mU / ml.

Men should not produce a lot of prolactin in the blood. High level prolactin (hyperprolactinemia) can be considered the norm only for pregnant women and in the postpartum period.

The level of the hormone should be measured taking into account the time of blood sampling, as it changes throughout the day: it grows at night during sleep and reaches its maximum during the day.

High prolactin levels in men may be due to:

  • thyroid problems (lack of hormones),
  • kidney and liver diseases,
  • neoplasms that produce and release prolactin (prolactinomas),
  • eating disorders (anorexia),
  • abnormalities in the work of the hypothalamus,
  • other diseases and formations of the pituitary gland.

A moderate increase in prolactin in men can also cause:

  • stress after an illness
  • chest injury,
  • convulsions,
  • lungs' cancer,
  • marijuana use,
  • nipple stimulation.

For drugs that can cause elevated level prolactin include:

  • tricyclic antidepressants,
  • risperidone,
  • opiates
  • amphetamines,
  • drugs for hypertension (reserpine, verapamil, methyldopa),
  • certain medicines that are used to treat gastroesophageal reflux disease (cimetidine).

Prolactin levels that are below the normal range are rare and are generally not considered abnormal. However, with pathologically low levels of the hormone, it is worthwhile to conduct additional studies to rule out a general decrease in pituitary hormones caused by a pituitary disorder (hypopituitarism).

Low prolactin can also be caused medicines eg dopamine, levodopa and ergot alkaloid derivatives. Low levels of this hormone are usually extremely rare.



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