Revitalizing monoamine oxidase inhibitors: a call for action

Even more importantly from a clinical-care point of view, the under-usage of MAOIs has caused much prolonged and needless suffering and avoidable deaths. [...]it is crucial to have these essential drugs available in the clinician’s armamentarium and to have clinicians who are knowledgeable about their usage. [...]psychiatrists overestimate the risks of side effects, drug–drug interactions, and the difficulty of following a low-tyramine diet with MAOIs.8,9 It has been pointed out that there is much misleading and incorrect information contained in standard texts, including the United States Physicians’ Desk Reference (PDR), the European electronic Medicines Compendium (eMC), and the British National Formulary (BNF); these texts require urgent updating to remove errors and bring them into line with state-of-the-art knowledge. Improvements in education and clinical practice guidelines, in combination with advocacy efforts to assure continued availability of MAOIs worldwide, will help patients continue to reap the benefits of these life-saving medications.