Title:History and Therapeutic Use of MAO-A Inhibitors: A Historical Perspective of MAO-A Inhibitors As Antidepressant Drug
VOLUME: 12 ISSUE: 20
Author(s):Matilde Yanez, Juan Fernando Padin, Juan Alberto Arranz-Tagarro, Mercedes Camina and Reyes Laguna
Affiliation:Departamento de Farmacologia. Facultad de Farmacia. Universidad de Santiago de Compostela. Campus Vida, E-15782, Santiago de Compostela, La Coruna, Spain.
Keywords:Antidepressants, depression, iproniazid, MAOIs, MAO-A selective inhibitors, moclobemide
Abstract:Since the first generation of MAO inhibitors was developed, more than fifty years ago, this family of drugs has
been ups and downs over the last decades. Actually, interest in MAO inhibitors is reviving and the emergence of new advances
in the rational design of molecules and new techniques to predict the in vivo behavior has encouraged the research
for new drugs with therapeutic potential in this area. The classic MAOIs have been widely used as antidepressants during
the two decades after its introduction in clinic. Based on observations made on MAO inhibition by these drugs, it has been
postulated hypothesis that have contributed to a better understanding of the mechanism and management of depressive
disorders. However, exaggerated concerns about food and drug interactions relegated these drugs from the pharmaceutical
landscape. The correct interpretation and the contextualization of side effects and the recent research findings, in which
MAO selective inhibitors appear as promising agents in the treatment of emerging and high prevalence diseases, are placing
these drugs again into the scientific and pharmacological focus.
