Hydrazine (antidepressant)

This article is about a series of antidepressants. For the toxic, unstable compound with the chemical formula N₂H₄, see hydrazine.

Iproniazid, the first hydrazine MAOI to be discovered.

The hydrazine antidepressants are a group of non-selective, irreversible monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) which were discovered and initially marketed in the 1950s and 1960s. Most have been withdrawn due to toxicity, namely hepatotoxicity, but a few still remain in clinical use.

Tranylcypromine, a structurally unrelated MAOI introduced around the same time as the hydrazines, was originally advertised as non-hydrazine as a result of its diminished propensity for causing hepatotoxicity.

List of hydrazine antidepressants

Marketed

• Benmoxin (Neuralex, Nerusil) ^‡
• Iproclozide (Sursum) ^‡
• Iproniazid (Marsilid) ^‡
• Isocarboxazid (Marplan)
• Mebanazine (Actomol) ^‡
• Nialamide (Niamid) ^‡
• Octamoxin (Ximaol, Nimaol) ^‡
• Phenelzine (Nardil)
• Pheniprazine (Catron) ^‡
• Phenoxypropazine (Drazine) ^‡
• Pivhydrazine (Tersavid) ^‡
• Safrazine (Safra) ^‡

Legend: ^‡ = Withdrawn from the market; ^† = Partially discontinued; Bolded names indicate major drugs.

Never marketed

• Carbenzide
• Cimemoxin
• Domoxin
• Metfendrazine

References

• López-Muñoz F, Alamo C (2009). "Monoaminergic neurotransmission: the history of the discovery of antidepressants from 1950s until today". Current Pharmaceutical Design. 15 (14): 1563–86. doi:10.2174/138161209788168001. PMID 19442174.