Drugs for Neurodegenerative Disease Flashcards
Malfunction of substantia nigra causes (hyper/hypo)kinetic
Which disease?
Hypokinetic
Parkinsonism
Malfunction of striatum causes (hyper/hypo)kinetic
Which disease?
Hyperkinetic
Huntington’s disease
What disease?
Involve muscle weakness and atrophy due to degeneration of motor neurons in spinal cord and cerebral cortex
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
Alzheimer’s disease is due to degeneration of neurons in what parts of the brain?
hippocampus and cerebral cortex
Lewy bodies are characteristic of what disease?
Parkinson’s disease
Which of the following is a characteristic of Parkinson's disease? A. Hyperkinesia B. Intentional tremor C. Muscular flaccidity D. Mask-like face, shuffling gait E. Unaffected speech
D
A. Bradykinesia
B. Resting tremor
C. Muscular rigidity
E. Impaired speech
D1 receptor controls ____ in the basal ganglia
direct pathway: accelerates movement
D2 receptor controls ____ in the basal ganglia
indirect pathway: slows movement
A reduction in dopamine acting at D1 and D2 causes
Inhibition of direct pathway
Activation of indirect pathway
Name the drugs that increase DA synthesis (3)
L-DOPA (levodopa)
Levodopa/Carbidopa (Sinemet)
Entacapone/Levodopa/Carbidopa (Stalevo)
Which of the following is TRUE about L-DOPA (levodopa)?
A. Poor oral availability
B. 8-10 hour half life
C. Good brain penetration
D. Metabolized peripherally by aromatic I-amino acid decarboxylase
E. Effect does not wane long term
D
A. Good oral availability: quick absorption from small intestine
B. Short half life: 1-2 hrs
C. Poor brain penetration (1-3%)
E. “Wearing off” effect after 3-5 years
Which of the following is NOT a side effect of L-DOPA? A. Nausea/vomiting, anorexia B. Cardiac arrhythmias C. Visual and auditory hallucination D. Memory impairment E. Dyskinesia
D
Also orthostatic hypotension and mood changes (depression, psychosis, anxiety)
Medication of choice for Parkinson’s
Sinemet (Levodopa/Carbidopa)
Aromatic I-amino acid decarboxylase inhibitor
Carbidopa
Name the drug:
o Blocks peripheral metabolism of L-DOPA → increase L-DOPA availability in brain
o Allow reduced dose of L-DOPA by 4-5x → reduce side effects of peripheral DA
Sinemet (Levodopa/Carbidopa)
Inhibitor of catechol-O-methyltransferase
Entacapone