What are 'COMT inhibitors'?

What are 'COMT inhibitors'?

Neal Hermanowicz (Director of the Movement Disorders Program) gives expert video advice on: What are the side effects of Dopamine Receptor Agonists?; What is 'impulse control disorder'? and more...

We spoke about DOPA decarboxylase as an enzyme system in the blood that degrades levodopa. There's a second set of enzymes that also are existent in the blood stream that degrades levodopa. They're called Catecholomethyl transferase, or COMT for short. So, to try to deliver levodopa to the target organ, namely the brain, both of these enzyme systems, the DOPA decarboxylase and the COMT system are inhibited to efficiently deliver levodopa to the brain. COMT inhibitors are also added to levodopa along with carbidopa to block both of these enzyme systems, so that the levodopa is not degraded in the blood before it can get to the brain. This helps get it there more efficiently and also prolongs the action of levodopa once it's ingested.