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Donald D. Gold, Jr, MD
University of Tennessee Memphis

JAMA. 1976;236(19):2175.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

To the Editor.—

In their report of statistically significant increases in serum prolactin levels among hypertensive patients receiving reserpine (235: 2316, 1976) Dr Lee et al suggested that "reserpine may facilitate synthesis or release or it may delay degradation of prolactin even when the drug is given for as long as 23 years."

The antipsychotic agents include a number of major classes of drugs, one of which is reserpine, the most widely used derivative of Rauwolfia serpentina. Today, the reserpines are essentially no longer used in psychiatric treatment because they are less effective and more toxic than many of the other classes.

However, the phenothiazines and some other neuroleptic drugs have been clearly demonstrated to increase serum prolactin levels in man. This increase in serum prolactin levels is measurable within 72 hours of initiation of oral administration and persists for up to the three months in subjects who have been . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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