The authors studied 52 depressed inpatients to examine treatment
response to phenelzine, a monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitor. All patients
were classified into one of three RDC categories (definitely psychotic,
probably psychotic, and nonpsychotic). For the entire sample, the mean
platelet MAO inhibition level achieved with phenelzine was greater than
80%. Response to treatment was determined by independent clinical
assessment and by the change in rating scores from baseline; 68% of the
nonpsychotic, 43% of the probably psychotic, and 21% of the definitely
psychotic patients were classified as responders. This differential
response rate is similar to that reported in the literature for tricyclic
antidepressants.
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