Posted by King Vultan on May 29, 2004, at 11:16:23
In reply to Can Antidepressants damage the liver?, posted by BRC on May 28, 2004, at 13:45:19
To add to the good information provided by zeugma, Marplan (isocarboxazid), which I guess is still available in the US to people willing to go through the hassle of dealing directly with the manufacturer, has hepatotoxicity similar to that of Nardil. Both of these are hydrazine derivatives, which is apparently the source of this (relatively rare) problem.
One of the early hydrazine MAO inhibitors had a disasterously high rate of associated liver failure and was withdrawn decades ago. If one takes a look at the prototypical hydrazine derivative and anti-tuberculosis agent isoniazid, this drug has a small but significant ability to cause hepatitis that doctors and patients must be aware of. According to "Mosby's 2004 Drug Guide",the incidence appears to be age related, with approximately 0 cases per 1000 patients under 20 years of age to to a maximum of 23 cases per 1000 for people in the 50-64 age group.
The incidence of liver problems for Nardil and Marplan are in the "rare" category and are much less than this, but from what I've read, the hepatotoxicity for these two drugs appears to also be age related. The Mosby book referenced above indicates the incidence of liver failure with Cylert (pemoline) to also be relatively rare, with 15 cases of acute liver failure reported to the FDA since marketing of the drug began in 1975, with 12 of them resulting in death or liver transplantation.
Todd
poster:King Vultan
thread:351559
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040527/msgs/351836.html