Critical appraisal of selegiline transdermal system for major depressive disorder

Although safer and easier to use antidepressants (ie.,SSRIs/SNRIs) have largely displaced MAOIs, these medications still have a role in difficult to treat conditions. Efforts to improve MAOIs benefit-risk profile resulted on the reversible MAOI and in the first antidepressant patch (selegiline transdermal delivery system-STS). The later had been available in the US since 2006. Thus a review on its safety profile and comparative efficacy is timely.

This review provides an overview of STS's clinical pharmacology and summarizes what has been learned across nearly a decade of experience. Product labels and the search engine PubMed were used to obtain relevant information.

STS remains a unique treatment option. It is the only FDA-approved antidepressant for patients with significant problems ingesting, tolerating, or absorbing oral medications. It remains the only MAOI that can be initiated without dietary restrictions at a therapeutic dose and has a low incidence of side effects when compared to other MAOIs. STS also provides an interesting option for depressed patients suffering from Parkinson's disease. However these advantages are counterweighted by drawbacks including the need for wash-out periods and the lack of convincing data illustrating its utility for treatment of more severe, treatment refractory depression.