In 1976, Ohman et al1 reported that serum prolactin levels rose 10- to 50-fold in eight of nine depressed women 15 minutes following electroconvulsive therapy, but not in women who were receiving similar anesthesia for gynecologic surgery. In 1978, Trimble2 described the occurrence of prolactin elevations post-tictally in patients with epilepsy. Since then, evidence has accumulated to suggest that changes in prolactin secretion in the setting of epilepsy are not haphazard, but represent predictable and localizable alterations in the electrophysiologic activity of specific cerebral regions that modulate endocrine secretion.
See also p 225.
Transient elevations in serum prolactin levels may occur following generalized motor and partial seizures.2-7 Peak levels are reached in 15 to 20 minutes, with a gradual return to baseline during the course of the subsequent hour.2-7 Simulated seizures are associated with elevation of serum cortisol levels but not serum prolactin levels.3,6 Postictal