Phenylethylidenehydrazine
Encyclopedia
Phenylethylidenehydrazine (PEH) is an inhibitor
of the enzyme
GABA transaminase (GABA-T). It is a metabolite
of the antidepressant
phenelzine
and is responsible for its elevation of GABA
concentrations. PEH likely plays a significant role in phenelzine's high efficacy in treating anxiety disorder
s.
Enzyme inhibitor
An enzyme inhibitor is a molecule that binds to enzymes and decreases their activity. Since blocking an enzyme's activity can kill a pathogen or correct a metabolic imbalance, many drugs are enzyme inhibitors. They are also used as herbicides and pesticides...
of the enzyme
Enzyme
Enzymes are proteins that catalyze chemical reactions. In enzymatic reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process, called substrates, are converted into different molecules, called products. Almost all chemical reactions in a biological cell need enzymes in order to occur at rates...
GABA transaminase (GABA-T). It is a metabolite
Metabolite
Metabolites are the intermediates and products of metabolism. The term metabolite is usually restricted to small molecules. A primary metabolite is directly involved in normal growth, development, and reproduction. Alcohol is an example of a primary metabolite produced in large-scale by industrial...
of the antidepressant
Antidepressant
An antidepressant is a psychiatric medication used to alleviate mood disorders, such as major depression and dysthymia and anxiety disorders such as social anxiety disorder. According to Gelder, Mayou &*Geddes people with a depressive illness will experience a therapeutic effect to their mood;...
phenelzine
Phenelzine
Phenelzine is a non-selective and irreversible monoamine oxidase inhibitor of the hydrazine class which is used as an antidepressant and anxiolytic...
and is responsible for its elevation of GABA
Gabâ
Gabâ or gabaa, for the people in many parts of the Philippines), is the concept of a non-human and non-divine, imminent retribution. A sort of negative karma, it is generally seen as an evil effect on a person because of their wrongdoings or transgressions...
concentrations. PEH likely plays a significant role in phenelzine's high efficacy in treating anxiety disorder
Anxiety disorder
Anxiety disorder is a blanket term covering several different forms of abnormal and pathological fear and anxiety. Conditions now considered anxiety disorders only came under the aegis of psychiatry at the end of the 19th century. Gelder, Mayou & Geddes explains that anxiety disorders are...
s.