Week 5- Parkinson’s Disease: pharmacology

Question 1

what is the first line treatment for parkinsons? what is it?how its works?formulation how is dopamine made?

Answer 1

Levadopa

• its a precusor for dopamaine and its helpful because we lose the dopenergic neurons in parkinsons so this will replace the dopamine that is lost
• given orally, absorbed into the periphery and crosses BBB WHERE THE DOPAMINE IS THEN SYNTHEISED BY the enzyme DOPA decarboxlase

Question 2

what is levadopa given with?

Answer 2

-given with dopadecarboxylase inhibitors which are peripheral inhibitors as they cant pass the BBB so this stops the conversion to dopamine in the periphery so more Levadopa to cross into brain and less dopamine in periphery avoiding side effects

Question 3

what is an example of dopadecarboxylase inhibitors?

Answer 3

• carbidopa

- benserazide

Question 4

what metabolised levadopa in the periphery?

Answer 4

COMT

Question 5

What can be used to prevent the metabolism of levadopa by COMT?

Answer 5

-COMT inhibitors like entacopne and tolcapone

Question 6

what does dopamine do ones its in the CNS?

Answer 6

can work at D1,D2 like receptors in the nigrostriatal pathways to go on to make the therapetic effect. dopamine is making up fpr the loss of the dopanergic neurone in the nigrostriatal pathways.

Question 7

what are MAO-B inhibitors?

Answer 7

they inhibit MAO-B from metabolising dopamine in the CNS

Question 8

what are dopamine agonists?

Answer 8

they work to give the therapetic effect of dopamine more selective to D2 like receptors