Abstract
IN patients with Parkinson's disease, the concentration of dopamine in the basal ganglia of the brain is markedly reduced in accordance with the degeneration of the nigrostriatal dopamine-containing neurones1,2. This fact provided the basis for the successful clinical introduction of L-dopa (L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalaline) for Parkinson's disease3,6. It has been suggested that one of the critical factors compensating for the loss of dopamine neurones may be the development of “denervation supersensitivity” in the striatum, as severe cases react more sensitively to L-dopa than milder cases or controls7–9. By measuring dopamine receptors in the putamen and caudate of postmortem brains from Parkinson patients, we report here evidence in support of the theory of dopaminergic supersensitivity in Parkinson's disease.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Rent or buy this article
Prices vary by article type
from$1.95
to$39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ehringer, H. & Hornykiewicz, O. Klin. Wochenschr. 38, 1236–1239 (1960).
Hornykiewicz, O. Pharmac. Rev. 18, 925–964 (1966).
Birkmayer, W. & Hornykiewicz, O. Wien. Klin. Wochenschr. 73, 787–788 (1961).
Barbeau, A., Sourkes, T. L. & Murphy, G. F. in Monoamines et Système Nerveux Centrale (ed. de Ajuriaguerra, J.) 247 (Georg, Genéve et Masson, Paris, 1962).
Cotzias, G. C., Van Woert, M. H. & Schiffer, L. M. N. Engl. J. Med. 276, 374–379 (1967).
Barbeau, A. Can. med. Ass. J. 101, 791–800 (1969).
Bernheimer, H., Birkmayer, W., Hornykiewicz, O., Jellinger, K. & Seitelberger, F. J. neurol. Sci. 20, 415–455 (1973).
Hornykiewicz, O. Biochem. Pharmac. 24, 1061–1065 (1975).
Klawans, H. L. Am. J. Psychiat. 130, 82–86 (1973).
Seeman, P., Chau-Wong, M., Tedesco, J. & Wong, K. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 72, 4376–4380 (1975).
Seeman, P., Lee, T., Chau-Wong, M. & Wong, K. Nature 261, 717–719 (1975).
Creese, I., Burt, D. R. & Snyder, S. H. Life Sci. 17, 993–1002 (1975).
Burt, D. R., Creese, I. & Snyder, S. H. Molec. Pharmac. 12, 800–812 (1976).
Creese, I., Burt, D. R. & Snyder, S. H. Life Sci. 17, 1715–1720 (1975).
Colpaert, F. C., Leysen, J. E. M. F., Niemegeers, C. J. E. & Janssen, P. A. J. Pharmac. Biochem. Behav. 5, 671–679 (1976).
Leysen, J., Tollenaere, J. P., Koch, M. H. J. & Laduron, P. Eur. J. Pharmac. 43, 253–267 (1977).
Seeman, P. Biochem. Pharmac. 26, 1741–1748 (1977).
Seeman, P., Lee, T., Chau-Wong, M., Tedesco, J. & Wong, K. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 73, 4354–4358 (1976).
Seeman, P. et al. Fedn Proc. 37, 130–136 (1978).
Laverty, R. & Taylor, K. M. Analyt. Biochem. 22, 269 (1968).
Murphy, G. F., Robinson, D. & Sharman, D. F. Br. J. Pharmac. 36, 107 (1969).
Burt, D. R., Creese, I., Pardo, J., Coyle, J. T. & Snyder, S. H. Soc. Neurosci. 6, 775 (1976).
Muller, P. & Seeman, P. Soc. Neurosci. 6, 874 (1976).
Burt, D. R., Creese, I. & Snyder, S. H. Science 196, 326–328 (1976).
Muller, P., Bowles, J. & Seeman, P. Soc. Neurosci. 7, 459 (1977).
Kobayashi, R. M., Fields, J. Z., Hruska, R. E., Beaumont, K. & Yamamura, H. I. in Animal Models in Psychiatry (ed. Usdin, E.) (Pergamon, New York, 1977).
Muller, P. & Seeman, P. Life Sci. 21, 1751–1758 (1977).
Tarsy, D. & Baldessarini, R. J. Neuropharmacology 13, 927–940 (1974).
Smith, R. C. & Davis, J. M. Life Sci. 19, 725 (1976).
Ezrin-Waters, C. & Seeman, P. Life Sci. (in the press).
Reisine, T. D. et al. Life Sci. (in the press).
Enna, S. J. et al. J. Neurochem. 28, 233 (1977).
Friedhoff, A. J., Bonnet, K. & Rosengarten, H. Res. Commun. chem. path. Pharmac. 16, 411–423 (1977).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
LEE, T., SEEMAN, P., RAJPUT, A. et al. Receptor basis for dopaminergic supersensitivity in Parkinson's disease. Nature 273, 59–61 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1038/273059a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/273059a0
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.