Possible anti-Parkinson properties of N-(alpha-linolenoyl) tyrosine: a new molecule.

Tyrosine is unable to cross the blood-brain barrier and is therefore unable to improve the status of brain dopamine (DA) and to provide relief for patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) or other DA-insufficient disorders. We report the creation of an amide bond molecule [N-(alpha-linolenoyl)tyrosine (NLT)] that combines tyrosine with a fatty acid mixture. NLT significantly improves the rotational behavior of rats [following unilateral striatal lesions (as a model for Parkinson's)] and overcomes the exaggerated eye-blinking induced by a potent DA-depleting agent (as a model for essential blepharospasm). These results are supported by the finding that NLT's mode of action, in striatum, is the same as the mode of action of D-amphetamine. They both induce an increase in the DA level, DA turnover and release.