Interconnected neurons firing with chromatography machine in background.

Beyond Dopamine: A New, Faster Way to Detect DBH Enzyme Changes

Reese Marlowe in Health & Wellness August 2025 • 4 min read.

"Could a quicker blood test for DBH enzyme activity help us understand and treat schizophrenia, Parkinson's, and more?"

Dopamine-β-hydroxylase (DBH) is a crucial enzyme that plays a significant role in both our mental and physical well-being. It's essential for converting dopamine into norepinephrine, a key neurotransmitter involved in everything from focus and attention to blood pressure regulation. Because of its wide-ranging effects, DBH has become an important target for understanding and treating various neuropsychiatric and cardiovascular diseases.

However, measuring DBH activity hasn't always been easy. Existing methods can be time-consuming, expensive, or lack the sensitivity needed for accurate results. This is where a recent breakthrough comes in: Researchers have developed a new, faster, and more cost-effective way to measure DBH activity in human blood samples.

This article breaks down this new method, its potential applications, and why it could be a game-changer for understanding and potentially treating conditions like schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease, and more.

The UHPLC-PDA Method: A Faster Route to DBH Detection

Interconnected neurons firing with chromatography machine in background.

The heart of this new approach lies in a technique called Ultra High Performance Liquid Chromatography (UHPLC) combined with a Photo Diode Array (PDA) detector. UHPLC allows scientists to separate different components in a sample much faster and with greater resolution than traditional methods. In this case, it's used to separate tyramine (a substance similar to dopamine) from octopamine, the product formed when DBH acts on tyramine.

Here’s how the process works:

Sample Preparation: A blood sample is taken, and serum is separated.
DBH Assay Reaction: The serum is mixed with a cocktail of ingredients that allow the DBH enzyme to do its job, converting tyramine to octopamine.
Solid Phase Extraction (SPE): This is a crucial step where the sample is purified to remove any interfering substances, ensuring a clean and accurate measurement.
UHPLC-PDA Analysis: The purified sample is run through the UHPLC system, which separates the tyramine and octopamine. The PDA detector then measures the amount of each substance.
Quantification: By measuring the amount of octopamine produced, scientists can determine the activity of the DBH enzyme in the original sample.

The researchers found that this method is highly sensitive, accurate, and reproducible. It can detect even small changes in DBH activity, and the results are consistent from test to test. The entire process takes only a few minutes, making it much faster than previous methods.

Why This Matters: Potential Applications and Future Directions

This new UHPLC-PDA method has several potential applications. First, it can be used to improve our understanding of diseases like schizophrenia. The researchers demonstrated that DBH activity was significantly lower in people with schizophrenia compared to healthy individuals, supporting the dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia.

Second, the method could be used to identify individuals at risk for developing certain conditions. By measuring DBH activity, doctors may be able to identify people who are more likely to develop schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease, or cardiovascular problems. This could allow for earlier intervention and potentially prevent the onset of these diseases.

Finally, the method could be used to screen for new drugs that affect DBH activity. Because DBH is a known drug target, this new assay could help researchers identify and develop more effective treatments for a variety of conditions. The researchers were able to link genetic variants affecting DBH expression using this method, potentially helping identify individuals who would benefit from personalized medicine.

About this Article -

This article was crafted using a human-AI hybrid and collaborative approach. AI assisted our team with initial drafting, research insights, identifying key questions, and image generation. Our human editors guided topic selection, defined the angle, structured the content, ensured factual accuracy and relevance, refined the tone, and conducted thorough editing to deliver helpful, high-quality information.See our About page for more information.

This article is based on research published under:

DOI-LINK: 10.1007/s11064-018-2653-1, Alternate LINK

Title: Determination Of Dopamine-Β-Hydroxylase Activity In Human Serum Using Uhplc-Pda Detection

Subject: Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience

Journal: Neurochemical Research

Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Authors: Toyanji Joseph Punchaichira, Smita Neelkanth Deshpande, B. K. Thelma

Published: 2018-10-24

Everything You Need To Know

What is DBH and why is it important?

Dopamine-β-hydroxylase, or DBH, is an important enzyme responsible for converting dopamine into norepinephrine. Norepinephrine is a neurotransmitter crucial for focus, attention, and blood pressure regulation. The enzyme's impact on these functions makes it a significant area of study for neuropsychiatric and cardiovascular diseases.

How does the new UHPLC-PDA method measure DBH enzyme activity?

The new method uses Ultra High Performance Liquid Chromatography (UHPLC) combined with a Photo Diode Array (PDA) detector to measure DBH activity. This UHPLC-PDA method involves separating tyramine from octopamine after DBH converts tyramine to octopamine. By measuring the amount of octopamine produced, scientists can accurately determine DBH enzyme activity in a blood sample. This method is faster, more sensitive, and more cost-effective than previous methods.

Can you explain the steps involved in the UHPLC-PDA method?

The UHPLC-PDA method includes sample preparation, where serum is separated from a blood sample. Then, a DBH assay reaction occurs, converting tyramine to octopamine. Solid Phase Extraction (SPE) purifies the sample, followed by UHPLC-PDA analysis to separate and measure tyramine and octopamine. Finally, quantification determines DBH enzyme activity. This process ensures accurate and rapid measurement of DBH activity.

How does this new method relate to schizophrenia?

This new method supports the dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia by demonstrating that DBH activity is lower in individuals with schizophrenia compared to healthy individuals. Lower DBH activity could affect the production of norepinephrine, potentially contributing to the symptoms of schizophrenia. This insight could lead to new strategies for understanding and treating the condition by focusing on DBH and norepinephrine.

Beyond schizophrenia and Parkinson's, what other potential applications exist for this new DBH detection method?

While the focus is on schizophrenia and potential applications to Parkinson's disease, the UHPLC-PDA method could also be used to study other conditions where DBH activity may be relevant, such as cardiovascular diseases or other neuropsychiatric disorders. The ability to rapidly and accurately measure DBH activity could allow researchers to explore its role in a wider range of conditions, leading to new diagnostic tools and therapeutic interventions. Future studies could also investigate how DBH activity is affected by different medications or environmental factors.