title: Effects of the antidepressant/antipanic drug phenelzine and its putative metabolite phenylethylidenehydrazine on extracellular gamma-aminobutyric acid levels in the striatum.
abstract: Phenelzine (PLZ) is a non-selective monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) commonly used to treat depression and panic disorder. As expected, PLZ increases brain levels of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin. Interestingly, PLZ also elevates brain levels of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), and previous studies have suggested that these increases may also contribute to the anxiolytic effects of PLZ. Using in vivo microdialysis in conscious, freely moving rats, combined with high performance liquid chromatography, the present experiments determined that PLZ (15 or 30 mg/kg, free base weight) increases extracellular levels of GABA in the caudate-putamen and nucleus accumbens. The results also indicated that phenylethylidenehydrazine (PEH; 29.6 mg/kg, free base weight), a putative intermediate metabolite of PLZ that is not an MAOI, also significantly increases extracellular GABA levels in the caudate-putamen. These findings provide further evidence that GABA may play an important role in the actions of PLZ and suggest that PEH should be pursued further as a GABAergic drug in its own right.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. psymbp@langate.gsu.edu
authors.forename: Marise B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Parent
authors.forename: Sangeeta
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Master
authors.forename: Shauna
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kashlub
authors.forename: Glen B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Baker
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002421:Caudate Nucleus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D006834:Hydrazines / Q000737:chemistry*; D008297:Male; D009714:Nucleus Accumbens / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D010624:Phenelzine / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011699:Putamen / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D006834:Hydrazines; C444559:phenylethylidenehydrazine; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid; D010624:Phenelzine