Monoamine oxidase inhibitor withdrawal phenomena: symptoms and pathophysiology

Abstract

The author reviews the literature reporting the untoward effects of withdrawing monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs). The withdrawal of these agents can result in severe anxiety, agitation, pressured speech, sleeplessness or drowsiness, hallucinations, delirium and paranoid psychosis. MAOI withdrawal phenomena resemble the symptoms produced by the discontinuation of chronically administered psychostimulants. The capacity of MAOI to exert amphetamine-like effects presynaptically, and the propensity of somatic treatments for depression to subsensitize presynaptic receptors regulating the release of catecholamines, can provide a basis for the development of psychotic syndromes upon the withdrawal of MAOIs. Evidence for this hypothesis is reviewed.