MAOIs and Depression Treatment Guidelines

This CME activity is expired. For more CME activities, visit CMEInstitute.com. Find more articles on this and other psychiatry and CNS topics: The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry The Primary Care Companion for CNS Disorders Article Abstract 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.