Is the failure of (-)deprenyl, a selective monoamine oxidase B inhibitor, to alleviate depression related to freedom from the cheese effect?

Abstract

The selective monoamine oxidase (MAO) B inhibitor (-)deprenyl failed to produce any greater benefit than placebo in a limited double-blind trial conducted in depressive patients. Its relative freedom from the so-called cheese effect was confirmed, however, in drug-treated patients challenged IV with tyramine. There is evidence to suggest that this cheese effect, a facilitated tyramine-induced hypertensive response, is pharmacologically distinct from MAO inhibition proper. Thus, it is conceivable that its central counterpart, an enhanced noradrenaline release due to the access of traces of tyramine to the CNS, is a prerequisite for any therapeutic benefit obtainable with the MAO-inhibitory drugs in general.