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Possible Rationale for Procaine (Gerovital H3) Therapy in Geriatrics: Inhibition of Monoamine Oxidase
Author(s) -
MacFARLANE M. DAVID
Publication year - 1973
Publication title -
journal of the american geriatrics society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.992
H-Index - 232
eISSN - 1532-5415
pISSN - 0002-8614
DOI - 10.1111/j.1532-5415.1973.tb01701.x
Subject(s) - procaine hydrochloride , iproniazid , procaine , medicine , monoamine oxidase , pharmacology , hydrochloride , anesthesia , enzyme , biochemistry , chemistry
Gerovital H3, a specially formulated preparation of procaine hydrochloride, has been employed for several years in the treatment of various manifestations of aging. Heretofore, there has been no pharmacologic basis for its use in geriatric patients, although procaine hydrochloride and inhibitors of the enzyme, monoamine oxidase (MAO), are known to have many of the same pharmacologic actions. The relative effectiveness of Gerovital H3, commercial procaine hydrochloride (Novocain), and iproniazid as MAO inhibitors was studied by means of tests involving serotonin and kynuramine metabolism by rat‐brain MAO. Gerovital H3 was a more effective MAO inhibitor than commercial procaine hydrochloride but was a less effective inhibitor than iproniazid. Moreover, Gerovital H3 seemed to have a selective affinity for certain of the multiple forms of MAO. These results, in view of the recent observations on MAO levels and aging, may offer a rationale for Gerovital H3 therapy in the elderly.