macroprolactin and prolactin?

[jjsevens]

My Dr says that these are different, macroprolactin is apparently the type of prolactin that you need to watch for. I came off a cycle and having major issues with ED/sex drive so my Dr ran bloods to check prolactin levels and says my prolactin is high, but macroprolactin is normal so this shouldn't have any effect on ED/sex drive.

Can anyone confirm this?

[Youthful55guy]

Never heard of it so I did a Google search and it turns out your doctor may be correct. Here's an abstract to a full article you can download from PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3719302/

Macroprolactin; A Frequent Cause of Misdiagnosed Hyperprolactinemia in Clinical Practice

Richa Vaishya,1 Rahul Gupta,2 and Sarika Arora3,*

Abstract

Introduction
Macroprolactin is a significant cause of misdiagnosis, unnecessary investigation, and inappropriate treatment in patients with hyperprolactinemia. Its frequency has not been clearly established due to technical difficulties in identifying it. Most laboratories and clinicians are unaware of macroprolactin interferences in prolactin assays.

Materials and Methods
A comprehensive literature search was conducted on the websites of the National Library of Medicine (http://www.ncbl.nlm.nih.gov) and PubMed Central, the US National Library of Medicine's digital archive of life sciences literature (http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/). The data were also looked for in relevant books and journal.

Results
Macroprolactin is a non-bioactive prolactin isoform usually composed of a prolactin monomer and an IgG molecule having a prolonged clearance rate similar to that of immunoglobulins. This isoform is clinically non-reactive but it interferes with immunological assays used for the detection of prolactin.

Conclusion
There is a need to understand and explore the recent progress in the diagnosis and pathophysiology of macroprolactinemia for improving patient care.