METOCLOPRAMIDE AS A DOPAMINE ANTAGONIST IN THE HEART AND GUT OF THE MOLLUSC TAPES WATLINGI

Abstract

SUMMARY 1. Metoclopramide is a potent antagonist of the inhibitory response to dopamine in two isolated tissues, the electrically stimulated intestine and the spontaneous beating heart, from the mollusc Tapes watlingi. 2. Blockade by metoclopramide of dopamine receptors in the central nervous system of man may account for the relapse of patients with Parkinson's disease which occurs when metoclopramide is given during successful therapy with levodopa.