George I. Papakostas, Karen K. Miller, Timothy Petersen, Katherine G. Sklarsky, Sarah E. Hilliker, Anne Klibanski, and Maurizio Fava
Objective: To determine changes in
serum prolactin levels in outpatients with
DSM-IV-diagnosed major depressive disorder (MDD)
following a 12-week open-label trial of fluoxetine.
Method: 87 outpatients enrolled in the
trial had serum prolactin levels determined at
baseline and during their final visit (week 12 or
discontinuation visit). In addition, serum
testosterone levels were measured in 44 of the 46 men
during these 2 visits. Hyperprolactinemia was defined
as a serum prolactin level greater than 16.5 ng/mL or 18.9 ng/mL for men and women,
respectively. The study was conducted from September
1997 to March 2002.
Results: Of 80 patients with normal
prolactin levels at baseline, 10 (12.5%) developed
hyperprolactinemia following fluoxetine treatment. Specifically, 2 (4.5%) of 44 men and 8 (22.2%)
of 36 women with normal prolactin levels at baseline developed hyperprolactinemia
following treatment with fluoxetine (p = .0174 for
between-gender difference). In addition, there was a
significant increase in mean ± SD serum prolactin levels following treatment with fluoxetine in
all patients with normal baseline prolactin levels (6.4 ± 3.4 to 10.0 ± 7.0 ng/mL, p = .002). There
were no significant changes from baseline in
testosterone levels in men following fluoxetine
treatment (448.4 ± 139.6 to 439.5 ± 142.1 ng/dL, p > .05;
normal above 245 ng/dL), while none of the 44 men developed low testosterone levels
following fluoxetine treatment.
J Clin Psychiatry 2006;67(6):952-957
© Copyright 2006 Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc.