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Monoamine oxidase inhibition for tobacco pharmacotherapy.

George TP, Weinberger AH

Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. tony.george@utoronto.ca

Tobacco addiction is the most significant preventable cause of morbidity and mortality in the Western world, with >430,000 deaths annually from tobacco-related diseases being reported in the United States. Although effective treatments are available for cessation of smoking (e.g., nicotine replacement therapies, sustained-release bupropion and varenicline), they do not work for all smokers. Therefore the development of more effective medications for treating tobacco dependence, based on novel mechanisms, is a high priority. This article reviews the links between smoking and monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibition, which could lead to the development of novel pharmacotherapies to treat tobacco dependence.

Published 19 March 2008 in Clin Pharmacol Ther, 83(4): 619-21.
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