Levodopa
InbrijaPubChem CID 6047 · 3D model
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Crosses into the brain, unlike dopamine itself, and gets converted there into dopamine, topping up the supply that Parkinson's disease gradually depletes.
How it works
Parkinson's disease happens because the brain cells that make dopamine, a chemical needed for smooth movement, gradually die off. You can't just give dopamine itself as a pill — it can't cross from the blood into the brain. Levodopa can make that crossing, and once inside gets converted into dopamine, topping up the supply. Because most of an oral dose would otherwise be used up before ever reaching the brain, levodopa is almost always given together with a helper drug, carbidopa, also on this site.
What it’s used for
Levodopa is the core medicine for Parkinson's disease, almost always given together with carbidopa. An inhaled, levodopa-only version (Inbrija) also exists as a fast-acting rescue treatment for moments when a patient's regular medicine schedule temporarily stops working well enough.
- Mechanism
- Dopamine precursor (AADC substrate)
- Drug class
- Small molecule
- Therapeutic area
- Neurology