@article{2b2cb950b31511debc73000ea68e967b,
title = "Dopa decarboxylase activity of the living human brain.",
abstract = "Monoaminergic neurons use dopa decarboxylase (DDC; aromatic-L-amino-acid carboxy-lyase, EC 4.1.1.28) to form dopamine from L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-dopa). We measured regional dopa decarboxylase activity in brains of six healthy volunteers with 6-[18F]fluoro-L-dopa and positron emission tomography. We calculated the enzyme activity, relative to its Km, with a kinetic model that yielded the relative rate of conversion of 6-[18F]fluoro-L-dopa to [18F]fluorodopamine. Regional values of relative dopa decarboxylase activity ranged from nil in occipital cortex to 1.9 h-1 in caudate nucleus and putamen, in agreement with values obtained in vitro.",
author = "A Gjedde and J Reith and S Dyve and G L{\'e}ger and M Guttman and M Diksic and A Evans and H Kuwabara",
year = "1991",
language = "English",
volume = "88",
pages = "2721--5",
journal = "Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United States of America",
issn = "0027-8424",
publisher = "The National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America",
number = "7",
}