Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) are a class of powerful
antidepressant drugs prescribed for the treatment of depression.
They are particularly effective in treating atypical depression,
and have also shown efficacy in smoking cessation. Due to
potentially lethal dietary and drug interactions, MAOIs had been
reserved as a last line of defense, used only when other classes
of antidepressant drugs (for example selective serotonin
reuptake inhibitors and tricyclic antidepressants) have been
tried unsuccessfully. Recently, however, a patch form of the
drug selegiline, called Emsam, was developed. It was approved
for use by the FDA on February 28, 2006. When applied
transdermally the drug does not enter the gastro-intestinal
system as it does when taken orally, thereby decreasing the
dangers of dietary interactions associated with MAOI pills. In
the past they were prescribed for those resistant to tricyclic
antidepressant therapy, but newer MAOIs are now sometimes used
as first-line therapy. They are also used