Schizophrenia is a thought disorder characterized by hallucinations,
delusions, and disorganized thinking. It affects 1% of the world population.
Neuroleptics are the drugs used in the treatment of schizophrenia. Besides
extrapyramidal side effects, hyperprolactinemia is a major side effect with neuroleptics
like haloperidol, risperidone, etc. Hyperprolactinemia results in gynecomastia (male),
galactorrhoea, oligomenorrhoea, and amenorrhoea (female) which leads to sexual
dysfunction and infertility. Dopamine receptor agonists like cabergoline,
bromocriptine, etc are used in the treatment of hyperprolactinemia. However, these
drugs may aggravate the symptoms of schizophrenia. So, there is a need for the
discovery of drugs that can be used against neuroleptic drug-induced
hyperprolactinemia. Lack of suitable animal models for the evaluation of new drugs
against neuroleptic drug-induced hyperprolactinemia is a major concern. In this
chapter, reviews on neuroleptic drug-induced hyperprolactinemia and the available
animal models for the screening of hyperprolactinemia are included.
Keywords: Animal Model, Hyperprolactinemia, Neuroleptic, Schizophrenia.