Antidepressants
Term
These are stimulant drugs for depression, e.g., amphetamine, ephedrine, harmine. All antidepressants are amines acting as analogs of natural monoamine oxidases (MAO, EC 1.4.3.4), inhibiting MAO. Then the breakdown of catecholamines (adrenaline, noradrenaline, dopamine) slows down, and the increased concentration causes a stimulating effect. The first discovered amphetamine was iproniazid. Antidepressants are used not only to treat depression but also as doping; athletes use them, they are given to horses.
Source | Glossary of Most Commonly Used Biomedical Terms and Concepts | Lithuanian University of Health Sciences | Academician Professor Antanas Praškevičius, Professor Laima Ivanovienė