Cabergoline is a drug most often medically prescribed for its ability to inhibit prolactin secretion via its action as a dopamine agonist. Used in the treatment of such diseases as Parkinson's disease (1), acromegaly (2), restless leg syndrome (3), Cushing?s syndrome (4), hyperprolactinemia (5), among others, the drug has been adopted by bodybuilders and strength athletes as a means to combat prolactin related side effects caused by certain anabolic steroids. For this purpose cabergoline is extremely effective while presenting little risk in terms of serious side effects to the health of the user when used for this purpose.
Steroid users should be concerned about excessive prolactin levels because of the side effects associated with them. Prolactin is a naturally occurring hormone primarily produced by the lactotrophs located in the pituitary gland, with a minority amount of the hormone being produced by other tissues/cells of the body. Prolactin plays a major role in lactation in most mammals including humans. It both stimulates milk production as well as inducing lobuloalveolar growth of the mammary gland. Obviously both of these side effects would be of great concern to bodybuilders and strength athletes from both a health and cosmetic standpoint. Decreased sex drive, sperm production and sexual function may also be related to elevated levels of this hormone (6, 7). In fact even in men with regular healthy levels of prolactin cabergoline can help to temporarily reduce the amount of the hormone that is secreted which leads to such advantages as an increase sex drive, improvement in sexual function (quality of erection) as well as reducing the refractory period for users (the amount of time between erections) (8).
