Central deopaminergic receptor supersensitivity and its relevance to Parkinson's disease

The degeneration of the substantia nigra that characterises Parkinson's disease may cause an alteration in sensitivity of striatal dopamine receptors. The development of denervation supersensitivity has been held to be responsible for some of the effects of chronic levodopa therapy. The rotating rodent is an animal model commonly used to study the phenomenon of striatal dopamine receptor supersensitivity, and to investigate drugs which may prove to be beneficial in the treatment of Parkinson's disease. We have investigated as to whether long-term oral administration of levodopa to mice with unilateral destruction of striatal dopaminergic nerve terminals influences dopaminergic receptor denervation supersensitivity as judged by the circling response following systemically administered levodopa. It does not do so and the relevance of these findings to the treatment of Parkinson's disease is discussed.