THE BRAIN-TARGETED DELIVERY OF DOPAMINE USING A REDOX-BASED CHEMICAL DELIVERY SYSTEM

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) blocks the delivery to the brain parenchyma of polar compounds such as the catecholamine, dopamine (DA). Attempts to directly deliver DA to the brain have been unsuccessful, thus impeding the use of neurotransmitter replacement as a strategy for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's disease (PD) and other conditions in which a dopamine deficiency may be causative, such as chronic hyperprolactinemia. The present review considers the various means of delivering DA to the brain, with a particular focus on the use of a redox-based delivery system for the brain-targeted delivery and localized release of this important neurotransmitter in brain. Results are presented which document successful delivery of DA, its local release and metabolism in the brain and appropriate pharmacological responses to the delivered neurotransmitter. These results open the possibility of treating a variety of brain maladies with novel DA delivery systems.