Dopamine, Urine Unit Converter

Urine dopamine measures the amount of dopamine excreted in urine over a 24-hour period. Dopamine is one of the three major catecholamines, alongside epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine (noradrenaline).

Catecholamines are hormones released by the adrenal glands in response to physical or emotional stress. After completing their actions, these hormones are metabolized into inactive compounds that appear in the urine.

This test is most commonly used to help diagnose or rule out rare catecholamine-secreting tumors, such as pheochromocytoma (adrenal tumors) or neuroblastoma (particularly in children).

Dopamine is produced primarily by the adrenal medulla and sympathetic ganglia. It is also synthesized locally in the kidneys from circulating L-DOPA, where it acts as a paracrine hormone to regulate sodium excretion.