title: Biological imaging and the molecular basis of dopaminergic diseases.
abstract: The development and validation of preclinical biological probes of nigrostriatal dysfunction are part of the next frontier for battling diseases involving dopamine deficiency. In this work, the quantitative relationship relationship between radiofluorinated L-DOPA, [e.g., L-3,4-dihydroxy-6-[18F]fluorophenylalanine (6-[18F]fluoro-L-DOPA, FDOPA)] kinetics measured with positron emission tomography and central dopamine biochemistry is discussed. A hypothesis of a possible "non-linearity" of FDOPA kinetics with dopaminergic cell losses is presented to explain apparent discrepancies in post-mortem biochemical and histological determinations in Parkinson's disease. Similar observations have been made in 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-exposed monkeys and human subjects where the FDOPA uptake constantly fell within normal values unless severe nigral damage had occurred. The limitations of FDOPA, and other biological probes, for examining the asymptomatic phase of dopaminergic diseases and the future direction of research are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA 90095, U.S.A. jbarrio@mail.nuc.ucla.edu
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Barrio
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Phelps
mesh_terms: D015632:1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine; D000818:Animals; D001142:Aromatic-L-Amino-Acid Decarboxylases / Q000378:metabolism; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D002452:Cell Count; D004295:Dihydroxyphenylalanine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism*; D000882:Haplorhini; D006801:Humans; D007700:Kinetics; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D011699:Putamen / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D012377:Rodentia; D013378:Substantia Nigra / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D014055:Tomography, Emission-Computed
chemical_list: C043437:fluorodopa F 18; D004295:Dihydroxyphenylalanine; D015632:1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine; D001142:Aromatic-L-Amino-Acid Decarboxylases; D004298:Dopamine