MAOIs and depression treatment guidelines.

From the Departments of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

The Journal of clinical psychiatry 2012 Jul

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Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) have proven efficacy for treating depression, particularly in patients with atypical depression, high levels of anxiety, anergic bipolar depression, and treatment-resistant depression. However, MAOIs are not supported as first-line treatments due to safety and tolerability concerns and the need for dietary restrictions; instead, current guidelines recommend MAOIs as third-, fourth-, or fifth-line treatments. However, a newer, transdermal MAOI formulation limits the need for dietary restrictions and has fewer sexual and metabolic effects than some of the newer antidepressants. © Copyright 2012 Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc.