Serum prolactin levels in Behcet's disease

Purpose: Evaluation of serum prolactin levels in Behcet's disease patients in Turkey. Methods: Serum prolactin levels were measured by radio-immunoassay (RIA) in 17 patients with ocular findings, and 20 patients without ocular findings of Behcet's disease, and in 17 healthy volunteers. Results: The average prolactin levers were measured as 9.53 ng/mL in patients with ocular findings, 8.84 ng/mL in patients without ocular findings, and 9.59 ng/mL in healthy controls. There was no statistical significance among these three groups. Also, the average levels were 9.84 ng/mL in remission periods and 7.54 ng/mL in attacks. Conclusions: In some studies, it has been suggested there is a correlation between high serum prolactin levels and activation of some autoimmune diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis. However, we found no such correlation in Behcet's disease. On the contrary, prolactin levels were lower in attacks than in remissions. (C) 2000 Japanese Ophthalmological Society.