Prolactin: a new therapeutic target in

Peripartum/postpartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is a potentially life-threatening disease of uncertain aetiology in previously healthy women. Clinical and experimental data suggested inflammation, autoimmune processes, apoptosis and endothelial dysfunction as typical pathophysiological features of PPCM. Recent data discovered that unbalanced peri/postpartum oxidative stress linked to proteolytic cleavage of the nursing hormone prolactin into a potent anti-angiogenic, pro-apoptotic and pro-inflammatory 16-kDa subform as a potential pathomechanism for the development of PPCM. Consistent with these idea, blockade of prolactin by bromocriptine, a dopamine D2 receptor agonist, prevented the onset of disease in an experimental mode