Use of Alpha-Methyl-Dopa (Alpha-Methyl-3,4-Dihydroxy-DL-Phenylalanine) in the Management of the Carcinoid Syndrome

RECENT reports1 , 2 of the efficacy of a new aromatic amine decarboxylase inhibitor, called alpha-methyl-dopa, in lowering serotonin blood levels by blocking metabolism of tryptophan at the 5-hydroxytryptophan level prompted clinical trial of this agent in a unique patient with proved carcinoid tumor, or argentaffinoma, a slow growing tumor that is constantly producing serotonin, which is believed at present to be the cause of the systemic flushes and important heart lesions characteristic of the malignant carcinoid syndrome. It is this relentless over-production of serotonin that adds to the malignancy of the carcinoid tumor. A drug that can neutralize this serotonin can . . .