How MAO Inhibitors affect Chiari

[*Stormy*]

As I mentioned in another thread, I finally got to see the CSI episode on Chiari and I noticed that they mentioned that the victim had been taking MAO Inhibitors which had played a role in his death. I have had a few different anti-depressants over the year so it peaked my interest and I set out to find out why...I was amazed by what I found.

Monoamine oxidase is an enzyme that eats up monoamine (one of the 3 neurotransmitters in the brain). MAO inhibitors bascially prevent that from happening which leads to build up of monoamine in the brain. Good for depression b/c it is linked to low levels of monoamine...bad for the brain and here's why.

Monoamine Oxidase also cleans up another amine called tyramine, a molecule that affects blood pressure. Taking MAO Inhibitors causes tyramine to build up in the brain as well which can be disastrous. Excessive Tyramine can cause a severe increase in blood pressure that can result in burst blood vessels of the brain. Some foods are know to make this worse like: chicken liver, aged cheese, broad-bean pods, or pickled herring, which causes floods of tyramine in the brain.
These drugs were first introduced in the 60's and caused a wave of brain hemorraghes resulting in death as well as severe headaches in others as a result of the rise in blood pressure. These drugs were taken off the market for awhile but have been back on for several years now. Even though they are considered the "last resort" antidepressant there still is a chance of being described one. Apparently, they work a lot better than some of the others.
The brand names of this drug are:Marplan, Nardil, Parnate, and Emsam. I was happy not to recognize any of those names which means I probably didn't take any of them!! Next...I am going to research if there is an effect like that from SSRI's or TCA's which are the more widely prescribed anti-d's...I'll keep you posted!

Carolyn

[Spaceystac]

Wow, so glad I never took that med!  Doctors have tried things like antidepressants and birth control on me and I just dont think its right to mess with your bodies chemistry like that.  Thank you for the reply, It was very helpful!
Stacey

[*Stormy*]

Hmmm...quickly looked it up. Looks like neurontin closely resembles a neurotransmitter GABA...so in essence you would be putting more of that neurotransmitter in your body. Also, I noticed that there were lots of warnings that it can cause suicidal or depressed thoughts so it sounds like it could be messing around with the same type of brain chemicals...pretty scary actually!

If you can't follow the link on here, let me know b/c I had to find a different one due to where I live.
Carolyn

[Spaceystac]

cool thank you Selma!

[selmaS]

Stacey I have a link to the CSI episode here on the forum...I will bump the thread

[Spaceystac]

I wonder if Neurotin has those MAOI effects? My mom had that kind of thing happen after she took that medication. She had an to go the ER, her head hurt worse than ever and she couldnt quit vomiting. They did an Angiogram  and found small capillaries bulging throughout her brain. I will have to try and see that episode, where do I find it?

[selmaS]

Very informative thanks for the easy to understand explanation too : )