Nocturnal plasma prolactin rise in patients with complex partial seizures.

We measured plasma prolactin and cortisol concentrations in 12 epileptic men with complex partial seizures during all-night polygraphic recording, with continuous video monitoring and sequential blood sampling at 30-minute intervals. There was a significant but moderate elevation of all-night mean plasma prolactin concentration (p less than 0.001), but not of cortisol, in epileptics when compared with normal subjects studied in a similar fashion. The data obtained in this environmentally controlled study of males with complex partial seizure disorder indicate a disruption of prolactin regulatory mechanisms resulting in a modest elevation of plasma concentrations independent of ictal electrographic discharges.