Monoamine oxidase inhibitor

Monoamine oxidase inhibitor
One of a potent class of medications used to treat depression. Abbreviated MAOI.

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monoamine oxidase inhibitor n any of various antidepressant drugs which increase the concentration of monoamines in the brain by inhibiting the action of monoamine oxidase

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(MAOI) any of a group of antidepressant drugs that have the ability to block the oxidative deamination of monoamines. It is thought that by inhibiting monoamine oxidase activity the inhibitors increase the level of catecholamines in the central nervous system, which would have been otherwise neutralized by the enzyme, and that these increased concentrations are responsible for their antidepressant effects. They are also used in the prophylaxis of migraine.

Medical dictionary. 2011.

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