iproniazid

[ ahy-pruh-nahy-uh-zid ]

noun

, Pharmacology.

1. a compound, C 9 H 13 N 3 O, used in the treatment of mental depression and tuberculosis.

Word History and Origins

Origin of iproniazid¹

First recorded in 1950–55; i(so)pro(pyl) + ni(cotine) + az- + -id ⁴

Example Sentences

That long and winding road began with the antibiotic iproniazid.

From Nature

Iproniazid transformed the treatment of tuberculosis in the 1950s.

From Nature

The first, called iproniazid, was found by accident when it was being tested as a treatment for tuberculosis.

From Time

Several classes of antidepressants owe their discovery to chance, from iproniazid which was initially used to treat tuberculosis in the 1950s, to the tricyclics of the 1960s which stemmed from an experimental treatment for schizophrenia and the more recent breakthrough involving the use of ketamine.

From The Guardian

Today's antidepressants all descend from serendipitous observations in human trials of two molecules more than 50 years ago: imipramine, synthesized as a potential antipsychotic drug, and iproniazid, designed to treat tuberculosis.

From Nature