Why might synthetic dopamine become less effective over time?
437237
Good question there. \nWhile it may apparently seem as static, one must remember that technically (& therefore, contrarily) the disease progressively worsens due to complications and/or other disorders associated with it.\nL-dopa is no longer effective in combating the symptoms. Over the years, the drug gets ineffective as the dosage is altered between times of exaggerated involuntary movement and of immobility.\n\nHere are a couple of links for better understanding, though not comprehensive:\n\nhttp://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/encephalitis_lethargica/encephalitis_lethargica.htm\n\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encephalitis_lethargica
459213
Generally, if someone with schizoaffective disorder is functioning well on a medication regime and they continue to comply with treatment, it is not often that you see any degeneration in their condition. However, it is not uncommon, particularly if people have been well for some time, for them to attempt to come off medication, which often leads to relapse (not always, but mostly). Another significant problem can be the long-term use of medication itself. This condition is usually treated with a mood stabilizer in conjunction with an anti-psychotic. The anti-psychotic medicines at a high dose and over a long period of time can cause a condition called "tardive dyskinesia", which can affect movement and speech. Obviously, this is not desirable and careful monitoring of physical health, as well as mental state is an absolute must. Overall though, it is very difficult to predict, as each individual's experience of the illness is different, including how long it takes to relapse, what the signs are, how long the recovery process takes, etc. I hope that this helps!
330799
i'm a biopsych major and i think what you're looking for is drugs such as ritalin that affect dopamine synapses in the brain and play a role in the patient's behaviour.  other antipsychotics also have behavioural affects resulting from different neurotransmittors in the brain.
556820
as any drug there is out there.  they are addicting and the reason being because of performance.  when you get off of them then the person can become suicidal.  I had thought about doing them acouple of times and did research on it.  Not worth it.
48783
Your best answer to this is how old someone is.\n\nTeens and up to 25yr olds produce enough from the pituitary gland. It's only as we age pass this, does production slow down. It does'nt stop though - people who work out hard and regular show increased levels in comparison to others. \n\nThere is no evidence to date that if you supplement, then stop - your natural production will decrease further because of the 'un-natural' supplementation.\n\nWe looked into this with the rave drug 'xtasy' (MDA) and the release of serotonin - once again, the neurotransmitters regulated themselves. This was only one study though.\n\nI'm not a Phd - just someone with experience.
719723
omg listen to these fools. u've been off them for six months HELLO!!!!\n\nexcellent stuff.\n\nhave you kept a diary of how you felt, functionally (eg no memory relapses and other stuff) before and after taking the drugs?\n\nhow long did the doctor say to take them for?\n\nhow long did u take them for?\n\nwhat is the research which backs up the use of the drugs? \n\nhow many independent replications have been done and how long ago were they done? \n\nwhat was the level of clinical significance chosen for those studies?\n\ngetting off the drugs is the best thing you've ever done.\n\nif something hasn't happened in six months, its reasonable to assume u don't need to waste ure money anymore on some loser BigPharma company that likes to profit off people's illnesses with drugs that barely work and are really intended to maintain diseases at a managable level rather than cure them. \n\nor they specifically target chronic diseases that have a low likelihood of actually being cured by drug therapy.\n\nmakes sense huh? i mean i would do that if i wanted to make money off drugs.\n\nu need to find out more about schizoaffective disorder too. consult ure doctor, and go to a psychologist. avoid believing the psychiatrist without talking to the psychologist (or neuropsychologist) too. then u will get a balanced opinion on ure options.
294051
The brain is very plastic and learns from experience. Its the reason why after a while drugs stop taking effect in the human body because the central nervous system is plastic. ...hope that helps =-)
166540
It's produced by the brain. However, I have some vague recollection of them making an inverse of dopamine molecule that can be absorber into the brain for like, diabetics or something, cant remember.
811184
Sorry! It decreases with age. After 30 yrs old there is a decline in the amount of testosterone produced.
368099
No, but it wouldn't surprise me too much.  After using the stuff for about 10 days straight (not abusing it, I had a god-awful cold) I know I experienced some pretty nasty effects when I stopped.\n\nI do know that the manufacturer of Robitussin (Whitehall-Robbins) makes it taste unpleasant because they want to discourage abuse.
605369
I'm not a scientist, but from the research I've done online I found that since substances stay in your hair shaft for long periods of time, depending on the length of your hair.\nI've also read that they can find substances you might have been exposed to up to 10 years ago!\n\nI've noticed some companies list they do drug testing on hair, which is just rude, since what you did years ago has no bearing on what you do now.
537533
In brain capillary endothelium and catecholaminergic terminals a single decarboxylation step effected by aromatic amino-acid decarboxylase converts phenylalanine to phenylethylamine, at a rate comparable to that of the central synthesis of dopamine. Phenylethylamine, however, is not stored in intra-neuronal vesicles and is rapidly degraded by monoamine oxidase-B. Despite its short half-life, phenylethylamine attracts attention as an endogenous amphetamine since it can potentiate catecholaminergic neurotransmission and induce striatal hyperreactivity. Subnormal phenylethylamine levels have been linked to disorders such as attention deficit and depression; the use of selegiline (Deprenyl) in Parkinson's disease may conceivably favour recovery from deficient dopaminergic neurotransmission by a monoamine oxidase-B inhibitory action that increases central phenylethylamine. Excess phenylethylamine has been invoked particularly in paranoid schizophrenia, in which it is thought to act as an endogenous amphetamine and, therefore, would be antagonized by neuroleptics. The importance of phenylethylamine in mental disorders is far from fully elucidated but the evolution of phenylethylamine concentrations in relation to symptoms remains a worthwhile investigation for individual psychotic patients.\n\ncould increase monoamine oxidase-B in order to degrade the available amount of phenylethylamine in system.
236867
Chrystal meth produces schizophrenia-like symptoms due to it's effect on the dopamine receptors. However, unless you are genetically vulnerable to the disorder and the STRESS of taking a stupid recreational drug creates trauma, these effects should be only temporary
1030430
you can alter your neurochemistry with drugs for things like depression or anxiety, but it sounds more like you are asking for a "cool pill". there are illegal drugs which lower your inhibitions, but taking them has terrible consequences, like potentially dying!\n\nif you are not comfortable with yourself, i'd recommend psychotherapy.
594503
Alzheimer's disease is due to decrease activity of acetylcholine producing cells in a  certain part of the brain due to the continuous destruction of these cells, some new researches showed that it might have a link with some other neurotransmitters too like serotonin  and perhaps dopamine, as giving the patients centrally acting acetylcholine agonists only improves the case for a  short period of time and might slow the process of the disease a little bit but the cell distructions cannot be stopped and that's why there is no cure for it until this day.
159830
Yes it decreases desire and performance.
907593
They can be. It's generally more related to being a side effect of the different meds (usually anticholinergic drugs) that are used for Parkinson's than actually being a symptom of the disease, though.