Fluorodopa, also known as FDOPA, is a fluorinated form of

L-DOPA -DOPA, also known as levodopa and -3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine, is an amino acid that is made and used as part of the normal biology of some plants and animals, including humans. Humans, as well as a portion of the other animals that utilize -DOPA ...

primarily synthesized as its

fluorine-18 Fluorine-18 (18F) is a fluorine radioisotope which is an important source of positrons. It has a mass of 18.0009380(6) u and its half-life is 109.771(20) minutes. It decays by positron emission 96% of the time and electron capture 4% of the time ...

isotopologue In chemistry, isotopologues are molecules that differ only in their isotopic composition. They have the same chemical formula and bonding arrangement of atoms, but at least one atom has a different number of neutrons than the parent. An exampl ...

for use as a

radiotracer A radioactive tracer, radiotracer, or radioactive label is a chemical compound in which one or more atoms have been replaced by a radionuclide so by virtue of its radioactive decay it can be used to explore the mechanism of chemical reactions by tr ...

positron emission tomography Positron emission tomography (PET) is a functional imaging technique that uses radioactive substances known as radiotracers to visualize and measure changes in Metabolism, metabolic processes, and in other physiological activities including bl ...

(PET). The most common side effects are injection site pain.

Medical uses

Fluorodopa is indicated for use in positron emission tomography (PET) to visualize

dopaminergic Dopaminergic means "related to dopamine" (literally, "working on dopamine"), dopamine being a common neurotransmitter. Dopaminergic substances or actions increase dopamine-related activity in the brain. Dopaminergic brain pathways facilitate d ...

nerve terminals in the

striatum The striatum, or corpus striatum (also called the striate nucleus), is a nucleus (a cluster of neurons) in the subcortical basal ganglia of the forebrain. The striatum is a critical component of the motor and reward systems; receives glutamate ...

for the evaluation of adults with suspected

Parkinsonian syndrome Parkinsonism is a clinical syndrome characterized by tremor, bradykinesia (slowed movements), rigidity, and postural instability. These are the four motor symptoms found in Parkinson's disease (PD), after which it is named, dementia with Lewy bo ...

s (PS).

History

In October 2019, Fluorodopa was approved in the United States for the visual detection of certain nerve cells in adult patients with suspected Parkinsonian Syndromes (PS). The U.S.

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respon ...

(FDA) approved Fluorodopa F 18 based on evidence from one clinical trial of 56 patients with suspected PS. The trial was conducted at one clinical site in the United States.

References

External links

* {{Portal bar , Medicine Catecholamines Radiopharmaceuticals Extrapyramidal and movement disorders