Posted by iforgotmypassword on April 26, 2009, at 3:02:43
i know MAO-B apparently has the effect of metabolizing dopamine to some extent. in whichever way it does this, wherever in the brain, and to what extent, does this have a use? is there anything else that MAO does that has a use?
it may be that MAO-B inhibition may be unlikely to hurt people, it may be the basis of the one benefit of smoking. (referring to the research implying that it seems to delay idiopathic parkinsonian neurodegeneration.) smoking however, i don't believe wipes out MAO-B, so even if MAO-B inhibition was one of the safe effects of tobacco smoking, it may not indicate that total MAO-B inhibition over long periods in healthy individuals is without risk, if there is some use for this enzyme...
or, does MAO-B exist almost as if by accident, as an unavoidable product of MAO-A production?
poster:iforgotmypassword
thread:892825
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/neuro/20090129/msgs/892825.html