Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 18, 2026

Comprehensive Profiling of Dopamine Regulation in Substantia Nigra and Ventral Tegmental Area
Published on: August 10, 2012
Dopamine and serotonin metabolism in hepatic encephalopathy
Abstract:
Patients with stupor or coma from fulminant hepatic failure were found to have high cerebrospinal fluid concentrations of homovanillic acid (HVA) and 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid (5-HIAA), metabolites of dopamine and serotonin respectively. Excessive amounts of their precursors-phenylalanine and tyrosine and free tryptophan-were found in the patients' plasma. Methionine, which participates in dopamine degradation, was also much increased. Similar disturbances were found in patients suffering an acute exacerbation of chronic encephalopathy. These abnormalities would be consistent with other evidence of an increased turnover of serotonin and possibly dopamine in the brain during hepatic encephalopathy.
Related Concept Videos
Drugs Affecting Neurotransmitter Release or Uptake
Drugs Affecting Neurotransmitter Synthesis
Nonlinear Pharmacokinetics: Dependence of Elimination Half-Life and Dose Clearance
A study on guinea pigs examined the...
Effect of Hepatic Disease on Pharmacokinetics: Drug Dosing and Hepatic Blood Flow
Effect of Hepatic Disease on Pharmacokinetics: Dose Adjustments Due to Hepatic Impairment
Hepatic Encephalopathy

