Question

Dopamine is not administered directly to the patient during the treatment of​ Parkinson's disease​ because:

A. the type of dopamine necessary in the brain is different from the type administered intravenously.
B. dopamine is not a therapeutic​ consideration; only acetylcholine replacement therapy is.
C. dopamine cannot cross the blood-
brain barrier.
D. the​ half-life of dopamine is too short to enable pharmacologic effects in the brain.

Answer 1

Parkinson's disease treatment does not involve direct dopamine administration because dopamine cannot cross the blood-brain barrier, thus L-DOPA is used as it can enter the brain and then be converted into dopamine.

Step-by-step explanation:

Dopamine is not administered directly to the patient during the treatment of Parkinson's disease because dopamine cannot cross the blood-brain barrier. Instead, the most commonly used treatment approach involves the administration of L-DOPA, which is a precursor to dopamine that can cross the blood-brain barrier, allowing for increased production of dopamine within the brain itself. This treatment strategy is designed to compensate for the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra, which is a hallmark of Parkinson's disease.