thank you - this reminds me of another question i have. i have recently read that dopamine is toxic to dopaminergic neurons (go figure) and that in the normal course of events, the neurons are protected somehow from the dopamine once it is secreted. (i could very well be butchering the reality of the situation, here, but this is what i understand from what i have read so far).

if the above is accurate, what happens when l-dopa is converted to dopamine in the brain? since it makes its entry to brain tissue via a different path than indiginous (sp?) dopamine, do the same mechanisms kick in to protect dopaminergic neurons that would had it made its entry in the usual way?

any thoughts?