Indications:Unspecified number of patients with mild hyperprolactinemia and cyclic mastalgia.; Patients:80 female patients. Group 1/cyclic mastalgia group: n=40 (Parlodel subgroup: n=unspecified; FAC subgroup: n=unspecified). Group 2/hyperprolactinemia group: n=40 (Parlodel subgroup: n=unspecified; FAC subgroup: n=unspecified).; TypeofStudy:A prospective open, randomized study comparing the efficacy of Parlodel and fructus agni casti (FAC) for the treatment of mild hyperprolactinemia and cyclic mastalgia.; DosageDuration:2.5 mg bid (=5 mg daily) for 3 months.; ComparativeDrug:Fructus agni casti (Agnucaston) was given at a dose of 40 mg daily for 3 months.; Results:Prolactin levels dropped from 945.66 ± 173.46 to 529.19 ±279.65 mIU/l with fructus agni casti and from 885.04 ± 177.45 to 472.68 ± 265.64 mIU/l with Parlodel (normal range 25.20-628.53 mIU/l). Both groups showed significantly lower levels after treatment (P < 0.0001 for both); however, there was no significant difference between the 2 treatment groups with respect to the size of the drop in prolactin levels that occurred (P=0.96). In the mastalgia cases, pain scores decreased from 6.8 ± 2.29 to 1.9 ± 1.92 with fructus agni casti, and from 6.3 ± 2.45 to 0.89 ± 1.05 with Parlodel. Both groups had significantly less breast pain after treatment (P<0.0001 for both); however, there was no significant difference between the 2 subgroups with respect to amount of pain reduction observed (P = 0.55). There were no adverse effects with fructus agni casti during the treatment period, but 12.5% of the patients treated with Parlodel suffered nausea and vomiting.; AdverseEffects:12.5% of the patients experienced nausea and vomiting.; AuthorsConclusions:Mastalgia and menstrual disorders require long-term treatment, which means that good tolerability and low toxicity are very important. Although dopamine agonists are effective for treating mastalgia and menstrual abnormalities, the adverse reactions associated with these drugs limit their use. According to our results, fructus agni casti performs similarly to bromocriptine with respect to lowering serum prolactin and reducing breast pain; however, it offers the advantages of better patient compliance and lower cost. We recommend fructus agni casti as a first-line treatment option for cyclic mastalgia and mild hyperprolactinemia.; FreeText:The efficacy of therapy was evaluated by comparing pre- and post-treatment findings for serum prolactin on days 5-8 of the menstrual cycle (Group 1) and breast pain (Group 2, assessed by visual analogue scale).
