Tolcapone
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| Image:Tolcapone.png | |
| Image:Tolcapone3d.png | |
| Tolcapone
| |
| Systematic (IUPAC) name | |
| 2-dihydroxyamino-4- (4-methylbenzoyl)- cyclohexa-2,4-diene-1,6-dione | |
| Identifiers | |
| CAS number | |
| ATC code | N04 |
| PubChem | |
| DrugBank | |
| Chemical data | |
| Formula | C14H11NO5 |
| Mol. mass | 273.241 g/mol |
| Pharmacokinetic data | |
| Bioavailability | 65% |
| Protein binding | >99.9% |
| Metabolism | ? |
| Half life | 2-3.5 hours |
| Excretion | ? |
| Therapeutic considerations | |
| Pregnancy cat. |
C(US) |
| Legal status | |
| Routes | Oral |
Tolcapone is a drug that inhibits the enzyme catechol-O-methyl transferase (COMT). It is used in the treatment of Parkinson's disease as an adjunct to levodopa/carbidopa medication. It is a yellow, odorless, non-hygroscopic, crystalline compound with a relative molecular mass of 273.25. The chemical name of tolcapone is 3,4-dihydroxy-4’-methyl-5-nitrobenzophenone. Its empirical formula is C14H11NO5.
Tolcapone has the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier and thus exerts its COMT inhibitory effects in the CNS as well as in the periphery.
Tolcapone has demonstrated significant hepatotoxicity that limits the drug's therapeutic utility to a drug of last resort. Entacapone, another COMT inhibitor, is a more popular selection for L-DOPA adjunct therapy in the treatment of Parkinson's Disease because it has a better side effect and toxicity profile.
Normally, administration of levodopa is compromised when COMT converts it to methyldopa. By preventing this effect, more of the levodopa that is administered reaches the CNS. Additionally, levodopa that is in the CNS, after being converted to dopamine, will not be degraded by COMT when tolcapone inhibits COMT activity.
Anti-parkinson drugs: dopaminergic agents (N04B) | |
|---|---|
| Dopa and derivatives | Levodopa, Melevodopa, Etilevodopa |
| Adamantane derivatives | Amantadine |
| Dopamine agonists | Apomorphine, Bromocriptine, Cabergoline, Dihydrexidine, Dihydroergocryptine mesylate, Fenoldopam, Lisuride, Pergolide, Piribedil, Pramipexole, Quinpirole, Ropinirole, Rotigotine, SKF 38393, SKF 82958 |
| MAOIs | Selegiline, Rasagiline |
| Other | Tolcapone, Entacapone, Budipine |
Acknowledgement and Attribution Regarding Sources of Content
Some of the initial content on this page may be incorporated in part from copyleft sources in the public domain including wikis such as Wikipedia and AskDrWiki. Drug information for patients came from the The National Library of Medicine. Infectious disease information may have come from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Differential Diagnoses are drawn from clinicians as well as an amalgamation of 3 sources: 1.The Disease Database; 2. Kahan, Scott, Smith, Ellen G. In A Page: Signs and Symptoms. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2004:3; 3. Sailer, Christian, Wasner, Susanne. Differential Diagnosis Pocket. Hermosa Beach, CA: Borm Bruckmeir Publishing LLC, 2002:7 .
