Visual Function in Prolactinoma Patients Treated with Bromocriptine

Ten patients with prolactin-secreting pituitary adenomas (prolactinoma) and visual dysfunction were treated primarily with bromocriptine. Nine patients had improvement of visual field or acuity associated with computed tomography (CT) evidence of a decrease in tumor size and reduction of serum prolactin level (SPL). Visual improvement usually began within days of commencing bromocriptine therapy. One patient with initial improvement had a worsening of visual fields at 11 months despite a normal SPL and a stable CT appearance of tumor size. This patient and the single patient without visual improvement underwent trans-sphenoidal hypophysectomy (TSH), but neither patient had postoperative visual improvement. Two other patients underwent TSH for nonvisual reasons. The remaining six patients have maintained excellent visual function at last follow-up (average of 18 months on bromocriptine therapy). This study shows that bromocriptine is an effective short- and long-term therapy for most patients with visual dysfunction due to prolactinoma.