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Monoamine Oxidase Inhibition by Ethanol in vitro

Nature volume 196, pages 575–576 (1962)Cite this article

Abstract

HYPNOTIC doses of ethanol have been reported by Rosenfeld1 to prolong the metabolic inactivation of exogenous serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine) in mice. Olson, Gursey, and Vester2 found the urinary excretion of 5-hydroxyindolylacetic acid (5–HIAA) to be significantly below normal in alcoholics, even after 6 months of abstinence on rigidly controlled diets. These findings suggest that ethanol may act as a monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitor. On the other hand, Gursey and Olson3 have reported depression of brain-stem serotonin and norepinephrine in rabbits after both acute and chronic ethanol administration; suggesting that ethanol may act to release stores of bound amines. Pscheidt, Issekutz, and Himwich4 were unable to confirm this finding. In our laboratories, we have found that a single dose of ethanol, given orally to human volunteers, produces a marked, but transitory, increase in the urinary excretion of tryptamine5.

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biochemical Research Section and Alcohol Clinic, Department of Psychiatry, State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, 3

    LAURENCE S. MAYNARD & VICTOR J. SCHENKER

Authors
  1. LAURENCE S. MAYNARD
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  2. VICTOR J. SCHENKER
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MAYNARD, L., SCHENKER, V. Monoamine Oxidase Inhibition by Ethanol in vitro. Nature 196, 575–576 (1962). https://doi.org/10.1038/196575a0

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