Dopamine — Clinical Uses of an Endogenous Catecholamine

Abstract

THE third endogenous catecholamine, dopamine, has been extensively investigated in recent years. Dopamine, the immediate precursor of norepinephrine, is found in high concentrations in sympathetic nerves and adrenal glands. In addition, it has been identified in areas where norepinephrine does not occur, and accumulating evidence suggests that dopaminergic nerves and receptors exert unique functions in the brain and elsewhere. Investigations of the physiologic role of dopamine in the basal ganglions resulted in the use of 1-dopa, the precursor of dopamine, in the treatment of Parkinson's disease.Dopamine also exerts unusual cardiovascular actions that appear to be due to action on . . .