D,L-DOPA was first synthesized in 1911 by Casimir Funk, the Polish biochemist who coined the term vitamin. In 1913, Marcus Guggenheim, a biochemist from Hoffmann-la Roche in Basel, isolated the pure enantiomer L-DOPA from the exotic bean plant Vicia faba.

When was L-DOPA first used for Parkinsons?

Striatal dopamine deficiency in Parkinson's disease (PD), first described in 1960, was a key event that led to the era of levodopa therapy. In 1961, levodopa was first tried in PD patients, but throughout most of the 1960s the results were inconsistent.

Is L-DOPA still used?

Five decades after its introduction, L-DOPA is still the most effective and widely used drug to alleviate the symptoms of PD (4). In recent years, deep brain stimulation (DBS) has become a standard evidence-based therapy for severe movement disorders such as PD (5), tremor (6) and dystonia (7).