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kruel1 t1_j22mp9b wrote

Unfortunately, dopamine isn’t able to cross the blood brain barrier. The way PD is treated involves use of levodopa (dopamine precursor) in combination with carbidopa (decarboxylase inhibitor;prevents metabolism of levodopa to help it cross the BBB). The nigrostriatal pathway is the dopamine pathway affected in pd, and through this pathway you get your basal ganglia dopamine responsive pathways that modulate motor activity. But in PD these pathways get disrupted so the dopamine system that applies the brakes beats out the pathway applying the gas. I’m very adhd and I suck at explaining things but would be happy to elaborate further! I do have to say there are some very cool therapies in the works for pd, I’m particularly excited about gene therapy

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[deleted] t1_j22z35d wrote

This is very well written.

I'd add that levodopa gets converted to dopamine by decarboxylation, but to ensure this only happens in the brain (where it is actually required) and not in the rest of the body (since a dopamine overdose would not be in our interests) we use carbidopas which are peripheral DOPA decarboxylase inhibitors (DDCI)

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CaptainDadJoke t1_j22zx43 wrote

see, this is why I tell people they're wrong when they call me smart. I understood maybe a quarter of all of this :D You beautiful amazing people are awesome, I love seeing someone talking shop about their craft like this. Keep up the good work and I thank you all for this I now have lots of things to google while I'm stuck here at work.

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defaltusr t1_j23qq90 wrote

Lol, I just commented the exact same. Black holes, james web telescope, how stuff behaves at close to lightspeed, no problem. But no idea what these people are talking about

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Fellainis_Elbows t1_j23rzhz wrote

We add an extra medicine to block an enzyme that would convert the medication we want to be converted in the brain too early, out in the peripheries.

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HayzenDraay t1_j24a74d wrote

Mmmm, yes, decarboxylation, I'm definitely familiar with this term for legitimate reasons.

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nearfar47 t1_j24x5y1 wrote

Also, carbidopa works in this role because carbidopa itself cannot cross the blood-brain barrier. That's why it blocks peripheral absorption of levodopa but won't interfere with levodopa absorption in the brain.

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Candid_Energy688 t1_j24tatj wrote

This made me remember my love for health sciences and pathophysiology. I was so busy with reading self improvement books (thinking I was not good enough) that I forgot to improve my knowledge in the sciences (which is what I'm already good at). You have just made me less depressed ❤️

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Brainsonastick t1_j255n0i wrote

Are the therapies in the works going to prevent PD, stop its advancement, or outright reverse it?

And any insight on how far away from FDA approval they are?

My father has had it for almost 20 years now so I’m trying to keep up with this stuff but it’s pretty far outside my usual field.

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A18o14 t1_j25ssv2 wrote

As far as I know: no, unfortunately not. There are a few things against the symptoms (medication and deep brain stimulation).

But the mechanism responsible for PD is still more or less unknown , so basic research is still being done. That's why (again: afaik) there is nothing revolutionary in sight at the moment.

(I wrote my MD loosly on the subject, so I have some insight)

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Effective-Return-754 t1_j28kc0v wrote

What about this new vibrating glove therapy? I guess that also only affects the symptoms, not the underlying causes, right?

https://news.yahoo.com/scientists-develop-glove-eliminates-parkinson-132644329.html

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A18o14 t1_j2dwhh7 wrote

They state it eliminates the tremor, that is just a side effect of PD so yes, it just deals with the symptoms. Funny enough most people with tremors do not have PD but jus a "Essential tremor". Bad enough but not that severe.

With PD parts of your brain are dying, so if a therapy does not deal with that it is not curing PD.

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Ok_Chocolate2552 t1_j25uwg7 wrote

The way that you explained it actually makes a lot of sense in my opinion

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