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l-DOPA, also known as l-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine and used medically as levodopa, is made and used as part of the normal biology of some plants [2] and animals, including humans. Humans, as well as a portion of the other animals that utilize l -DOPA, make it via biosynthesis from the amino acid l -tyrosine .
Levodopa crosses the protective blood–brain barrier, whereas dopamine itself cannot. [3] [4] Thus, levodopa is used to increase dopamine concentrations in the treatment of Parkinson's disease, Parkinsonism, dopamine-responsive dystonia and Parkinson-plus syndrome. The therapeutic efficacy is different for different kinds of symptoms.
Tyrosine hydroxylase or tyrosine 3-monooxygenase is the enzyme responsible for catalyzing the conversion of the amino acid L-tyrosine to L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-DOPA). [5] [6] It does so using molecular oxygen (O 2), as well as iron (Fe 2+) and tetrahydrobiopterin as cofactors.
Levodopa, a precursor of catecholamines, is an important substrate of COMT. COMT inhibitors, like entacapone, save levodopa from COMT and prolong the action of levodopa. [11] Entacapone is a widely used adjunct drug of levodopa therapy. When given with an inhibitor of dopa decarboxylase (carbidopa or benserazide), levodopa is optimally saved.
Levodopa (L-DOPA), a prodrug of dopamine which is used to treat Parkinson's disease and certain other conditions. A neurotransmitter prodrug, or neurotransmitter precursor, is a drug that acts as a prodrug of a neurotransmitter. A variety of neurotransmitter prodrugs have been developed and used in medicine.
It was named dopamine because it is a monoamine whose precursor in the Barger-Ewens synthesis is 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (levodopa or L-DOPA). Dopamine's function as a neurotransmitter was first recognized in 1958 by Arvid Carlsson and Nils-Åke Hillarp at the Laboratory for Chemical Pharmacology of the National Heart Institute of Sweden. [155]
Monoamine precursors are precursors of monoamines and monoamine neurotransmitters in the body. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] The amino acids L -tryptophan and L -5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP; oxitriptan) are precursors of serotonin and melatonin , while the amino acids L -phenylalanine , L -tyrosine , and L -DOPA (levodopa) are precursors of dopamine , epinephrine ...
Levodopa is a precursor to the neurotransmitter dopamine, which is administered to increase its levels in the central nervous system.However, most levodopa is decarboxylated to dopamine before it reaches the brain, and since dopamine is unable to cross the blood–brain barrier, this translates to little therapeutic gain with strong peripheral side effects.
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