Effect of steroid contraceptive drug treatment on the catecholamine metabolism in the guinea pig central nervous system.
In an attempt to establish the biochemical basis of the neurological side-effects of steroid contraceptive drugs, the effect of chronic administration of lynestrenol-mestranol, a widely employed contraceptive combination, on the catecholaminergic system of the guinea pig striatum, brainstem, and hypothalamus, was investigated. The effect of these drugs on the transformation of tyrosine into dopamine and norepinephrine was investigated after cerobroventricular injection of a tracer dose of [3,5-3H]L-tyrosine. Treatment increased the conversion of [3H]Tyrosine into [3H]norepinephrine in the lower brainstem and hypothalamus was the same in treated and control animals. These findings confirm results previously obtained in female rats.
D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism*; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000378:metabolism; D002395:Catecholamines / Q000378:metabolism*; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000378:metabolism; D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000378:metabolism; D008234:Lynestrenol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008656:Mestranol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000378:metabolism; D014443:Tyrosine / Q000378:metabolism
D002395:Catecholamines; D014443:Tyrosine; D008656:Mestranol; D008234:Lynestrenol; D004298:Dopamine; D009638:Norepinephrine