Amine oxidase inhibitors.

W E HAVE HAD a keen interest in the monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOinhibitors) from the time that Cesarman' first reported their benefits in the prophylaxis of angina pectoris. Together with two of my associates, Dr. Robert W. Oblath and Dr. Willard J. Zinn, I have used four of the available MAO-inhibitors-iproniazid, isocarboxazid, beta-phenylisopropylhydrazine, and pivalylbenzhydrazine-in the treatment of patients with myocardial ischemia. In general we find that our patients feel better under medication with iproniazid and its analogues than they had felt prior to the admiinistration of these products. They are more alert, more cheerful, and they can do more than was possible formerly. As other investigators have noted, under treatment with MAO-inhibitors patients previously disabled by angina are able to walk distances heretofore out of the question for them and-as long as they are receiving adequate dosages of these drugsthey can go about their daily activities within the limits dictated by the state of the myocardium and prescribed for them by their physicians without experiencing anginal pain or even pressure. Once the drug is stopped or reduced below the effective level for the individual patient, his capacity for effort again becomes increasingly limited, and he is forced to return to his pretreatment inactivity. Patient-physician rapport is tremendously improved under the influence of the MAOinhibitors. The patient assumes a healthier attitude toward his disease and a more hopeful outlook toward the future outcome. Whereas he remains aware of petty annoy-