Diagnosis and Treatment > Signs and Symptoms

You are looking at 1 - 1 of 1 items for :

  • Hypersomnia x
Clear All
Lisa Burback Alberta Hospital Edmonton, Addiction and Mental Health Program, Alberta Health Services, 17480 Fort Road, Post Office Box 307, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T5J 2J7

Search for other papers by Lisa Burback in
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close

Summary

A previously healthy 32-year-old woman developed cyclical mood swings after being prescribed cabergoline for a pituitary microprolactinoma. These mood swings persisted for over 2 years, at which point she developed an acute manic episode with psychotic features and was admitted to a psychiatry unit. Cabergoline was discontinued and replaced with aripiprazole 10 mg/day. Her manic episode quickly resolved, and she was discharged within 6 days of admission. The aripiprazole suppressed her prolactin levels for over 18 months of follow-up, even after the dose was lowered to 2 mg/day. There was no significant change in tumor size over 15 months, treatment was well tolerated. However, after 9 months of taking 2 mg aripiprazole, she developed brief manic symptoms, and the dose was returned to 10 mg daily, with good effect.

Learning points

  • Dopamine agonists such as cabergoline, which are a standard treatment for microprolactinomas, can have serious adverse effects such as psychosis or valvular heart disease.

  • Aripiprazole is a well-tolerated atypical antipsychotic that, unlike other antipsychotics, is a partial dopamine agonist capable of suppressing prolactin levels.

  • Adjunctive, low-dose aripiprazole has been utilized to reverse risperidone-induced hyperprolactinemia.

  • This case report demonstrates how aripiprazole monotherapy, in doses ranging from 2 to 10 mg/day, was effective in suppressing prolactin in a woman with a microprolactinoma who developed psychiatric side effects from cabergoline.

Open access