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Dopamine Research Advances


by Arcangelo Benigno, Akiyama Watanabe

List Price: $129.00
Available: Usually ships in 6 to 11 days
Sales Rank: 2860421
Studio: Nova Biomedical Books
Binding: Hardcover
Number Of Pages: 225
Publication Date: December 12, 2007
Publisher: Nova Biomedical Books


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Product Description
Dopamine is a phenethylamine naturally produced by the human body. In the brain, dopamine functions as a neurotransmitter, activating the five types of dopamine receptor - D1, D2, D3, D4 and D5, and their variants. Dopamine is produced in several areas of the brain, including the substantia nigra. Dopamine is also a neurohormone released by the hypothalamus. Its main function as a hormone is to inhibit the release of prolactin from the anterior lobe of the pituitary. Dopamine can be supplied as a medication that acts on the sympathetic nervous system, producing effects such as increased heart rate and blood pressure.However, since dopamine cannot cross the blood-brain barrier, dopamine given as a drug does not directly affect the central nervous system. To increase the amount of dopamine in the brains of patients with diseases such as Parkinson's disease and Dopa-Responsive Dystonia, L-DOPA (levodopa), which is the precursor of dopamine, can be given because it can cross the blood-brain barrier. This book presents new research in the field.
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