Levodopa-induced changes in synaptic dopamine in patients with Parkinson's disease as measured by [11C]raclopride displacement and PET.

Changes in striatal binding of [11C]raclopride, a dopamine D2 receptor antagonist, induced by acute levodopa administration, were evaluated with PET in 10 patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD). The patients were scanned on two occasions: drug-free and 15 minutes after a 5-minute intravenous infusion of 3 mg/kg levodopa. Levodopa administration produced reductions in striatal [11C]raclopride uptake index with a rostrocaudal gradient. The most pronounced reduction was found in the posterior putamen (to 82% of baseline), followed by the anterior putamen (to 88% of baseline) and the caudate nucleus (to 94% of baseline). The magnitude of [11C]raclopride uptake index reduction correlated with drug-free disability. Moreover, in four hemiparkinsonian patients, a reduction in [11C]raclopride uptake index was measured in the putamen contralateral to the parkinsonian symptoms. The present results demonstrate a positive correlation between striatal dopaminergic nerve-terminal deficiency and the capacity for levodopa to increase synaptic dopamine and displace [11C]raclopride binding, which corresponds to an accelerated amine turnover in dopamine-depleted striatal tissue. We therefore suggest that dopaminergic degeneration in PD is paralleled by a progressive acceleration of amine turnover. This mechanistic consequence of nigrostriatal degeneration, the selective restoration of synaptic dopaminergic neurotransmission in denervated striatal subregions, may explain the effectiveness of levodopa in producing symptomatic benefits in early PD. However, we also suggest that in the vastly denervated striatum, as in advanced PD, an excessive acceleration of amine turnover results in swings in levodopa-induced synaptic dopamine levels that are far beyond normal. This phenomenon most likely plays a key role in the pathogenesis underlying the development of motor-response complications in PD.