Pharmacology: Moclobemide

Moclobemide is classified as an antidepressant, a MAO (monoamine oxidase) inhibitor. Antidepressants are designed to inhibit the reuptake or reabsorbtion of specific neurotransmitters, increasing the levels of these neurotransmitters around the nerves of the brain (Gbemudu, 2011:1). Neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine (noradrenaline) are often called 'feel good' chemicals that elevate the patient's mood.

Drug class

A deficit of mood-enhancing chemicals is associated with depression, although there is no single neurotransmitter that is associated with depression alone. Because every patient's biochemistry and history of depression is different, different classes of antidepressants are designed to have different effects on the brain's neurotransmitters and have different indicated uses. For example, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI)s like Prozac prevent the reabsorbtion of the 'feel good' chemical serotonin, just as MAOIs prevent the reabsorbtion of monoamine oxidase. Depression is thought to be caused, in part, by a decrease in the...
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