Why Carbidopa is given along with Levodopa

Carbidopa is a peripheral dopa decarboxylase inhibitor which inhibits the peripheral metabolism of levodopa resulting in its bio-availability within the CNS.  But carbidopa alone is ineffective as neither it can cross the blood brain barrier nor increases dopamine levels within the CNS. Unlike Levodopa, Carbidopa is structurally not an amino acid therefore it is not transported into CNS by amino acid transporters.

• #education
• #levodopa
• #carbidopa
• #dopa_decaboxylase
• #peripheral_ddc_inhibition
• #carbidopa_cant_cross_bbb