Posted by PaulB on November 29, 2001, at 22:32:57
There seems to be no doubt that Nardil and Parnate are more effective for treating social phobia than all the SSRI's yet I do not understand why. The SSRI's, particularly Sertraline and Paroxetine are highly selective and therefore target the 5-HT subtypes that regulate anxiety and depression. On the other hand the MAOI's are not selective in that they inhibit the breakdown of all subtypes of serotonin. So I am puzzzled as to why Nardil is the 'gold standard' for SP. Of course one argument would be that Nardil has some gabergic properties but even the newer reversible MAOI's such as Moclobemide, at high doses are particularly effective for treating social phobia, and do not possess any gabergic properties. My suggestion would be that 'maybe'inhibition of the MAOI enzyme is a more potent anti-depressant mechanism than re-uptake of neurotransmitters? I dont know? Given that there is such a great margin between the effectiveness of Nardil compared to Paroxetine and the other 5HT re-uptakers there must be some obvious reason because Nardil's effectiveness is significant. I would like to read some educated reasons as to why this may be.
Thanks in advance for any responses.
poster:PaulB
thread:85575
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20011123/msgs/85575.html