What it means
An older group of antidepressants that stop the enzyme monoamine oxidase from breaking down norepinephrine, serotonin and dopamine. They are used less often today because of serious interactions. Eating foods high in tyramine (aged cheese, cured or smoked meats, tap beer, soy sauce) while taking one can cause a dangerous rise in blood pressure, and taking one with another serotonin-raising drug can cause serotonin syndrome. Examples are phenelzine, tranylcypromine and a selegiline skin patch.
For the nurse
Give the client a written list of tyramine foods to avoid, and teach them to report a sudden severe headache, stiff neck or pounding heart at once. Check all other drugs, including cold medicines and herbal products; most other antidepressants need a gap of about two weeks before or after an MAOI.
Remember it
MAOI, think "May Avoid Old Ingredients": aged cheese and cured meats.
At a glance
| Drug class | antidepressant |
|---|---|
| Brand names | Nardil (phenelzine), Parnate (tranylcypromine), Emsam (selegiline patch) |
| Abbreviations | MAOI |
| Spanish | inhibidor de la monoaminooxidasa (IMAO) |
| Also written | monoamine oxidase inhibitors, MAOI, MAOIs, MAO inhibitor, MAO inhibitors |
Related terms
hypertension
Blood pressure that stays higher than normal, at or above 130/80 mm Hg by current US guidelines.
neurotransmitter
A chemical that a nerve cell releases to pass a signal to another nerve, muscle or gland cell.
major depressive disorder
A mental illness in which a person has a low mood or loses interest in almost everything for at least two weeks.
tricyclic antidepressant
An older type of antidepressant, named for its three-ring chemical structure, also used for nerve pain.