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Article: Knowledge of Mechanisms Continues to Emerge. (MAO Inhibitors Revisited).(monoamine oxidase inhibitors)
- Article from:
- Clinical Psychiatry News
- Article date:
- November 1, 2001
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 International Medical News Group. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The cellular antidepressant mechanisms of monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors, although not completely elucidated, clearly involve changes in serotonin- and norepinephrinemediated neurotransmission, said Pierre Blier, MD, PhD, professor of psychiatry and neuroscience at the University of Florida in Gainesville.
Because of their ability to increase brain levels of serotonin and norepinephrine, MAO inhibitors rapidly and robustly decrease the firing rate of these two types of neurons. The regulatory impact on serotonin and norepinephrine accounts for much of the clinical effect of MAO inhibitors.
The monoaminergic systems exhibit considerable homology from ...