MAOA and major depressive disorder: The antidepressant effect of MAO-Is is dependent on inhibition of MAO-A but irreversible inhibition of that isoenzyme resulted in adverse hypertensive reactions with foods containing tyramine called “the cheese effect.” To avoid this adverse event, a new strategy for the treatment of depression was presented in the form of reversible inhibitors of MAO-A (RIMA), such as moclobemide (Haefely et al., 1992), brofaromine (Davidson, 2003), and befloxatone (Curet et al., 1998).