title: Short- and long-term effects of L-dopa administration on striatal acetylcholinesterase activity.
abstract: Exogenously applied dopamine may interfere with cholinergic activity in the brain. The aim of the present work was to study the effect of L-dopa administration on acetylcholinesterase (EC 3.1.1.7) activity in rat (Wistar) brain striatum. Short-term administration of a mixture of L-dopa (10 mg/kg) and carbidopa (1 mg/kg) resulted in an increase in dopamine content and a decrease in acetylcholinesterase activity of the tissue. The greatest changes were found 30 min postinjection, and activity returned to near-control values after 2 h. When the drug mixture was injected for a period of 30 d and the animals were killed 24 h after the last injection, a lower dopamine content and higher enzyme activity were seen, compared to control values. It would appear that chronic administration of L-dopa gradually reduced the dopamine-storage capacity of the striatum and that the activity of acetylcholinesterase might be controlled by the levels of dopamine in the brain striatum.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Isfahan Medical Sciences University, Iran.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Messripour
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Shahidi
mesh_terms: D000110:Acetylcholinesterase / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D002230:Carbidopa / Q000494:pharmacology; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology*; D007980:Levodopa / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains
chemical_list: D007980:Levodopa; D000110:Acetylcholinesterase; D002230:Carbidopa