Abstract
Summary
The effect of nomifensine (Nom), a new antidepressant agent which facilitates dopaminergic neurotransmission by blocking the reuptake of dopamine (DA) into nerve terminals and by promoting DA release, was studied on plasma prolactin (PRL) levels in the rat. Nom reduced baseline plasma PRL levels in untreated or reserpine-pretreated male rats and in ovariectomized, estrogen-primed female rats. Nom did not alter plasma PRL levels in reserpine-α-methyl-p-tyrosine-pretreated male rats and in hypophysectomized female rats bearing a pituitary transplant under the kidney capsule nor inhibited PRL release from in vitro-in-cubated pituitaries. The availability of drugs such as Nom, whose action rests on the integrity of dopaminergic transmission in the CNS, without involving direct stimulation of pituitary DA receptors, offers a valid means to investigate CNS function in hyperprolac-tinemic states.
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