3D model of Carbidopa
Hi,
I made this account to share cool information about some of the chemicals we use, and also teach people a few things about chemistry. I have always been fascinated by the pharmacology of Carbidopa, so it is my first entry! I hope you all enjoy it, and you can expect a post every week on an interesting chemical. I am open to suggestions! Please do not hesitate to ask questions too, I have a lot of background in chemistry and like explaining things in less convoluted ways!
Chemical Of The Week 1. Carbidopa
Chemical Identifier #. 34359
Empirical Formula: C10H14N2O4
Molecular Weight: 226.23
Synonyms: Lodosin, Lodosyn, Methyldopahydrazine, MK 485
Carbidopa is a drug used in the treatment of Parkinsons, usually in conjunction with Levodopa (aka L- Dopa). It functions by blocking the conversion of L-Dopa to Dopamine by Dopa decarboxylase. This may seem odd because you want more Dopamine in the brain. However it cannot cross the blood brain barrier, but L-dopa can, where it then is converted to Dopamine in the Substantia Nigra.
George Cotzias, a Greek-American scientist, is credited with the discovery of the ability of Carbidopas to increase the effectiveness of Parkinsons treatment with Levodopa. He also made the critical observation that Parkinsons symptoms decreased when Levodopa was administrated in increasing dosages over time.
Carbidopa became commercially available in 1975.
Line drawing structure of Carbidopa
References:
https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/carbidopa
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9633679
https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/meds/a601068.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbidopa
George Cotzias
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Cotzias