Results in 136 hyperprolactinaemic women who presented with infertility, 
amenorrhoea, menstrual irregularities and/or galactorrhoea are reported. There 
was radiographic evidence of pituitary microadenoma in 21 (15.4%) patients and 5 
(3.7%) had macroadenoma. Four patients were taking antidepressants, 2 
antihypertensive drugs and 7 had taken oral contraceptives for a period of 6 
months to 5 years. The remaining patients had no obvious cause for elevated 
prolactin levels. Patients with pituitary adenoma had a significantly higher (p 
less than 0.001) baseline serum prolactin level (182 +/- 4.6 ng/ml) than those 
with no adenoma (59.2 +/- 4.2 ng/ml). All patients in the study were treated 
with bromocriptine (2.5-10 mg) to normalize serum prolactin or to achieve a 
pregnancy. The patients without an adenoma required a significantly smaller dose 
of bromocriptine (2.5-5.0 mg) (p less than 0.005) than those with an adenoma. 
Galactorrhoea disappeared in all 64 patients within 2-4 months of treatment, 
sixty-six (71%) of the 93 patients who desired pregnancy achieved it within 3 to 
8 months of bromocriptine therapy; 32 of these patients received additional 
treatment with clomiphene and human chorionic gonadotrophins for induction of 
ovulation. In the remaining 70 patients menstruation became regular and 
ovulation was evident in 40% of them. There was no significant difference in the 
pregnancy rate between the patients with or without pituitary adenoma. 
Similarly, presence of galactorrhoea or a high level of prolactin did not 
influence the pregnancy rate. No complications were observed during pregnancy 
related to pituitary adenomas; 8 (12%) pregnancies ended in first trimester 
abortion. No lethal congenital fetal abnormalities were observed in the patients 
treated with bromocriptine.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)