On 2017 December 20, Fatma Haddad, Maryam Sawalha, Yahya Khawaja, AnasNajjarand RafikKaraman published a new study in Molecules 2018, 23, 40, 2-17 titled "Dopamine and Levodopa Prodrugs for the Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease". The article indicated or concluded that Till today, PD treatments were based mostly on exogenous dopamine substitution within the striatum and LD is still the drug of choice to manage symptoms of PD. However, long-term therapy with L-dopa is associated with significant side effects. The main challenge in improving LD therapy is to reduce or remove the motor complications created or aggravated by noticeable LD plasma circulating level fluctuations. Dopamine and LD provide several sites in their chemical structures where it is possible to perform chemical alteration, this helped to have derivatives with enhanced physicochemical characteristics. In the past few years, researchers have conveyed their awareness towards designing targeted dopamine and LD prodrugs to replace exciting marketed drugs which have poor physicochemical and pharmacological properties. As mentioned above, dopamine and LD prodrugs should be soluble in both water and lipid, fully absorbed by gastrointestinal tract without any chemical degradation or metabolism, and have the ability to cross the BBB and hence to produce dopamine at the brain at consistent therapeutic level.
For more information about the study, please contact the main author at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or the scientific research office at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
