Drug properties of monoamine oxidase inhibitor antidepressants and dosages in the elderly (see note)

Drug	Starting dose	Dose range for older adult
Isocarboxazid	10 mg every morning	10 to 40 mg per day in divided doses
Phenelzine	7.5 mg every morning	22.5 to 60 mg per day in three divided doses
Tranylcypromine	10 mg every morning	10 to 40 mg per day in divided doses
Selegiline (transdermal patch)	6 mg/24 hours applied once daily	6 to 12 mg/24 hours applied once daily

IMPORTANT NOTE: MAOIs are NOT first line antidepressant medications due to the dietary restrictions, drug-drug interactions and potentially severe side-effects. MAOIs are rarely used in medically ill or older adults except when previously initiated and tolerated in the patient who is treatment resistant to all other antidepressants. For specific drug interactions see the Lexi-Interact program included with UpToDate. For additional information, refer to the separate topic on MAOIs for treating depressed adults.

MAOI: monoamine oxidase inhibitors.

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