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On Wed 04 Dec, Pat Reilly wrote: > Brian Collins wrote: > > > > Brian, > > I concure with your statment that the body and brain > dopamine systems are seperate and not related. However, I was not > addressing Dopamine, what I was talking about actually was the L-Dopa > traveling in the blood stream. Since L-Dopa is a smaller molecule it is > what crosses the blood-brain barrier and then is converted into > dopamine. > In my research what I've discovered is that the L-Dopa molecule > is the one that is used by the muscules as a sugar. If the blood levels > of L-Dopa is reduced then the brain has less of a supply to convert > which implies less dopamine in the brain. (Agree/Disagree) > I'm sorry it's taken so long to respond but it's finals time out > here for my wife and daughter college cources and we all share the same > computer, ie. I'm last to get on. > > Aloha > Pat Reilly > [log in to unmask] > Hello, Pat. I've been thinking about your claims as stated in your last mail. I am not sure of my facts in the world of chemistry (I am an Engineer) so I must continually check to ensure that I am not drawn into uncharted areas. As I see your case, you are sayimg that there is levodopa being carried around in the blood stream, and that this levodopa has free access into the brain, and is converted to Dopamine along with the levodopa originating from the tablets which we take. If we take vigorous exercise, the level of sugars in the blood falls, which means the level of levodopa falls - less levodopa crosses the blood/brain barrier,and so we need more levodopa from tablets. It makes a plausible story, and I don't have enough knowledge of chemistry to contradict you, but we can at least talk about levels and flow rates. I have test data which shows background levels of levodopa at about 0.2 micro-grammes per millilitre, i.e. the natural level , compared to a switch -on level of 0.75 The environment for levodopa in the bloodstream is very hostile; an idea can be gained from the fact that when doctors first tried to treat PD with doses of unshielded levodopa, only about 1% survived to arrive at the Substantia nigra. Since no matter how hard you exercise, the lowest level of external levodopa can only be zero, and as I have already shown, this is replaced by a slight rise in the rate of levodopa from the tablets, I consider that the original statement - that exercise does not require higher levels of levodopa- is justified. BUT, it may be necessary to take the tablets more frequently; say every 1 3/4 hours instead of every 2 hours. Regards, -- Brian Collins <[log in to unmask]>