Mechanism of action Parkinson's disease is characterized by the death of cells that produce dopamine, a neurotransmitter. An enzyme called monoamine oxidase (MAO) breaks down neurotransmitters. MAO has two forms, MAO-A and MAO-B. MAO-B breaks down dopamine.<unk>  prevents the breakdown of dopamine by irreversibly binding to MAO-B. Dopamine is therefore more available, somewhat compensating for the diminished quantities made in the brains of people with Parkinson's. Selegiline was the first selective MAO-B inhibitor. It is partly metabolized to levomethamphetamine (l-methamphetamine), one of the two enantiomers of methamphetamine, in vivo. While these metabolites may contribute to selegiline's ability to inhibit reuptake of the neurotransmitters dopamine and norepinephrine, they have also been associated with orthostatic hypotension and hallucinations in some people.<unk>  metabolizes into 1(R)-aminoindan which has no amphetamine-like characteristics and has neuroprotective properties in cells and in animal models. It is selective for MAO type B over type A by a factor of fourteen. Metabolism<unk>  is broken down via CYP1A2, part of the cytochrome P450 metabolic path in the liver. It is contraindicated in patients with hepatic insufficiency and its use should be monitored carefully in patients taking other drugs that alter the normal effectiveness of this metabolic path.
Rasagiline
Selegiline
Perhexiline
Bedaquiline
Rimonabant
Deutetrabenazine
Rivastigmine
Belinostat