A Combination of Exercise and Therapy with Cabergoline Attenuate Disturbances of Pituitary-Gonadal Hormones in Hyperprolactinemic Male Patients

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate whether cabergoline therapy alone for six months or in combination with a light exercise programme for an additional three months can attenuate hyperprolactinemia in 13 male patients (range: 22 to 45 yrs.) through measuring pituitary-gonadal hormones including prolactin, follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, and total testosterone. The exercise programme consisted of walking, brisk walking, jogging, and running for three months, during which the intensity and duration of exercise were gradually increased. All the patients performed the exercise programme at 6.30 AM to exclude the effects of the circadian rhythm. The exercise programme was performed at an intensity below 160 beats per min to ensure filling of the heart with blood during ventricular diastole. Blood samples were collected from each patient on three occasions: before treatment, at the end of cabergoline therapy, and after the combination of light exercise and cabergoline. At the end of cabergoline therapy, descriptive data revealed that serum prolactin levels were decreased while the other hormones were increased but without returning to the normal range, except for one patient. However, at the end of the combination procedure, most hormones, namely prolactin and testosterone, were returned to the normal range in most patients. In conclusion, light exercise combined with cabergoline therapy for additional 3 months after 6 months of cabergoline therapy alone returned hormones in most patients to normal range probably due to improved mood and decreased hostility as a result of tuberoinfundibular pathway activity.