Inhibition of L-[18F]fluorodopa uptake into human brain by amino acids demonstrated by positron emission tomography.

The brain uptake of L-[18F]fluorodopa was measured by positron emission tomography in a healthy male volunteer both under fasting conditions and during intravenous amino acid loading. A significant reduction of tracer uptake into the brain was demonstrated with amino acid loading. This finding represents the first direct evidence for competition between L-dopa and other amino acids for uptake across the blood-brain barrier obtained in vivo in a human subject. It underlines the possible importance of interference by dietary amino acids with the therapeutic actions of L-dopa in Parkinson's disease.