78.1k views
4 votes
How can dopamine amounts be increased in patient with diseases such as Parkinson's disease?

User Luaan
by
8.1k points

1 Answer

6 votes

Final answer:

Treatments for Parkinson's disease aim to increase dopamine levels in the brain, which can be done through the use of medications like L-DOPA.

Step-by-step explanation:

Treatments for Parkinson's disease aim to increase dopamine levels in the striatum. The most common way to do this is by providing L-DOPA, an amino acid that is converted into dopamine in the brain. This increased dopamine neurotransmission helps compensate for the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. Other drugs work by inhibiting the enzyme that breaks down dopamine.

User Dmitry Sazonov
by
8.3k points