Fifty years since the discovery of Bromocriptine

Abstract

An ergot alkaloid, 2-Br-alfa-ergocriptin, and its effect on lactation in rats was first mentioned by E. Fluckiger and H. Wagner in the twenty-fourth issue, published in 1968, of the journal "Experientia". Initially, this work did not attract much attention; however, after the isolation of pure prolactin, and the establishment of its physiological role, the high efficacy of bromocriptine in the treatment of hyperprolactinemia quickly became clear. Bromocriptine has been actively studied not only by American and European scientists but also in the USSR since 1975. Bromocriptine was used in the treatment of persistent lactorrhea and amenorrhea, acromegaly, and also the drug was experimentally prescribed for Itsenko Cushings disease. Unique data about the children of mothers with hyperprolactinemia who received bromocriptine therapy was collected in the USSR. Bromocriptine also made a huge contribution to the treatment of Parkinsons disease, for which it has been used since the 1960s. Much later, in 2009, bromocriptine in small doses was approved for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Currently, different studies of the effect of bromocriptine on various metabolic pathways are continuing. Thus, even 50 years after the discovery of bromocriptine, not all of its effects are well studied, and this world-famous drug continues to raise more and more new questions for scientists and doctors.