Drugs such as cocaine and amphetamine produce their effects by changing the flow of neurotransmitters.

 These drugs are defined as indirect acting because they depend on the activity of neurons. In contrast, some drugs bypass neurotransmitters altogether and act directly on receptors. Such drugs are direct acting.
Use of these two types of drugs can lead to very different results in treating the same disease. As mentioned earlier, people with Parkinson's disease lose neurons that contain dopamine. To compensate for this loss, the body produces more dopamine receptors on other neurons. Indirect agonists are not very effective in treating the disease since they depend on the presence of dopamine neurons. In contrast, direct agonists are more effective because they stimulate dopamine receptors even when dopamine neurons are missing.

Related articles

• So rebel, be set apart, change the world (galatictours.blogspot.com)
• You wake up (galatictours.blogspot.com)
• How can a three-pound mass of jelly that you can hold in your palm imagine angels, contemplate the meaning of infinity, and even question its own place in the cosmos? (galatictours.blogspot.com)
• Jekyll and Hyde had it far too easy. (galatictours.blogspot.com)
• The biggest questions in life are often times avoided (galatictours.blogspot.com)
• Laughter is nature's OK signal. (galatictours.blogspot.com)
• Relapse is an instance of being in some important way unable to take responsibility for self. (galatictours.blogspot.com)
• Addiction can be seen as a range of mental illnesses (galatictours.blogspot.com)