THE EFFECTS OF BROFAROMINE ALONE AND IN CONJUNCTION WITH ALCOHOL ON COGNITIVE FUNCTION, PSYCHOMOTOR PERFORMANCE, MOOD AND SLEEP IN HEALTHY-VOLUNTEERS

Brofaromine is a novel antidepressant that functions by the inhibition of the A form of monoamine oxidase (MAO). This inhibition is reversible, making brofaromine both pharmacologically and structurally different from most of the currently available MAO inhibitors. The drug has been shown to be clinically effective and to have significantly fewer problems than other MAO inhibitors in terms of hepatic toxicity and interaction with tyramine and co-administered tricyclic antidepressants. The present experiment was designed to assess the behavioural toxicity of the drug. Seventeen normal volunteers received brofaromine 50 mg or 75 mg, amitriptyline 50 mg or placebo with and without alcohol in a double blind eight-way crossover study. A psychometric test battery was administered at 3, 6 and 12 h post-dose. The results show that brofaromine had little or no effect on the measures employed, compared to placebo. The amitriptyline verum (with and without alcohol) however lowered critical flicker fusion threshold compared to placebo at all test points, increased reaction time, increased tracking error, and slowed memory scanning. It is concluded that, in volunteers, acute doses of brofaromine are free from disruptive effects on cognitive function and psychomotor performance, in contrast to both amitriptyline and alcohol which showed debilitating effects on most of the measures employed.