[18F]Fluoro-Dopa for the in vivo Investigation of Intracerebral Dopamine Metabolism

Although a deficiency of dopamine in the nigrostriatal tracts is known to be associated with Parkinson’s disease (Hornykiewicz, 1966) and the dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia has been extant for some years, there is still no method by which direct measurements of intracerebral dopamine metabolism can be made during life. Indirect assessments of intracerebral catecholamine metabolism, based on examination of the cerebrospinal fluid have been …