Phenelzine treatment of melancholia.

Monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitor antidepressants are widely thought by clinicians and researchers to be ineffective in the treatment of endogenous depression. This study reports an open clinical trial in which seven of eight outpatients (88%) with melancholia responded to phenelzine treatment. This response rate is comparable to the response to tranylcypromine in a previous study at our clinic. These results suggest that MAO inhibitors are effective for outpatients with endogenous depressive syndromes. The use of MAO inhibitors may be an alternative treatment for patients who cannot tolerate or who have not responded to tricyclic antidepressants.