Macroprolactin
Macroprolactin is a physiologically inactive form of prolactin found in a small proportion of people. It is in fact prolactin bound to IgG.
Macroprolactin is important, as some laboratory assays will detect it as prolactin, leading to a falsely elevated prolactin result. This can lead to a misdiagnosis of hyperprolactinaemia in some people, especially those with other symptoms, such as infertility[1] or menstrual problems.
There are certain chemicals, such as polyethylene glycol, that can be added to remove macroprolactin from a suspicious sample. The sample can then be re-analysed to see if the prolactin levels are still high.
The gold standard test to diagnose macroprolactin is gel-filtration chromatography.
Literature
- Sadideen H, Swaminathan R. (2006): "Macroprolactin: what is it and what is its importance?" Int J Clin Pract. 60(4):457-61.
gollark: What's the number in the window titlebar?
gollark: A table containing `default`, `description` and `type` (I think all of those can be omitted though).
gollark: There are binary versions of them - "rb", "wb" and "ab".
gollark: "r" is read, "w" is write, "a" is append.
gollark: > what is string "r"<@585951540888731651> It's the mode to open it in.
References
- K Jayakrishnan. "chapter 11". Insights Into Infertility Management. JP Medical Ltd. p. 79.
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