Study of the effects of L-dopa on some chemical transmitters in CNS in normal and liver diseased animals

The influence of intraperitoneal administration of L-dopa on brain chemical transmitters and liver function tests was investigated in rats with paracitamol induced hepatic necrosis. It was found that L-dopa produced a significant increase in the level of norepinephrine and a significant decrease in the level of epinephrine and serotonin. On the other hand, L-dopa did not improve the histopathological picture of the liver and the liver function tests of the diseased animals. These data indicate that the improvement in the clinical picture of hepatic coma by injection of levodopa could be explained by its effect on the neuro-hormonal transmitters and not due to direct action on the liver