Cumulative effects of irreversible MAO inhibitors in vivo

Abstract

The effects of repeated treatment with clorgyline, pargyline, deprenyl and tranylcypromine on MAO activity in rat brain and liver were investigated. MAO was measured with the substrates serotonin (5HT), phenethylamine (PEA) and, in some cases, t brain tissue after single and repeated administrations of 10 mg/kg s.c. clorgyline or deprenyl were also compared. Single doses of clorgyline (1 and 10 mg/kg s.c.) completely blocked the deamination of 5-HT. PEA deamination gradually decreased during the 14-day treatment. Pargyline in a dose of 0.3 mg/kg s.c. reduced both 5-HT and PEA deamination progressively over the same period. In the course of repeated treatment the effects of clorgyline and deprenyl on 5-HT and PEA deamination increased in intensity, by a factor of about 10 in the brain and about 3 in the liver. The potentiation of the effect of tranylcypromine was less marked (brain: × 4; liver: × 2). The rates of recovery of MAO activity were not greater after repeated than after single administrations of high doses of clorgyline and deprenyl, suggesting that the withdrawal of the drugs is not followed by a rebound phenomenon. Our results indicate that repeated treatment with suitable doses of clorgyline or deprenyl leads to specific reduction of either MAO A or B activity in brain, without producing any appreciable effect in the liver.