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echolaliac t1_j8irsga wrote

As other comment said most substantia nigra dopamine neurons are already dead in Parkinson’s, so there isn’t enough dopamine floating around for DRIs to do much, which is why direct dopamine receptor agonists and dopamine precursors are used instead. However DRIs can help prevent PD because they reduce the concentration of dopamine inside cell bodies, so it causes less oxidative stress

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eckart t1_j8m4dx2 wrote

Wouldn’t that imply that a significant amount of recreational stimulants such as cocaine or many cathinones (‘bath salts’) help prevent parkinson?

What about dopamine release agents such as amphetamine/methamphetamine?

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echolaliac t1_j8nbr5l wrote

Cocaine probably, I don’t know about cathinones, but dopamine release agents do the opposite because they displace dopamine from synaptic vesicles into the cytoplasm, which is why too much meth actually kills dopamine neurons. A DRI like cocaine or methylphenidate have been shown to prevent this kind of neurotoxicity.

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