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selegiline vs vortioxetine

Side-by-side comparison of selegiline and vortioxetine. Data from FDA drug databases (Orange Book, NDC Directory, recalls, shortages) covering 20,000+ approved drugs, plus CMS pricing; see our methodology.

moderate Known Drug Interaction

[see Dosage and Administration (2.4) , Contraindications (4) , Warnings and Precautions (5.2) ] Examples selegiline, tranylcypromine, isocarboxazid, phenelzine, linezolid, methylene blue Other Serotonergic Drugs Clinical Impact Concomitant use of TRINTELLIX with other serotonergic drugs increases the risk of serotonin syndrome.

Recommendation: Avoid taking these two drugs together. Your healthcare provider will manage the timing of your doses to prevent a bad reaction.

Drug Class
selegiline Selective MAO-B Inhibitor
vortioxetine Serotonin Modulator
Type
selegiline Prescription
vortioxetine Prescription
Summary
selegiline

Selegiline is a medicine that can help manage Parkinson's disease. It is used along with levodopa/carbidopa when that medicine is not working as well as it used to.

vortioxetine

Trintellix is a medicine used to treat major depressive disorder (MDD) in adults. It helps to improve mood and reduce symptoms of depression.

What It Treats
selegiline

Selegiline is used to help people with Parkinson's disease. It's for those who are already taking levodopa/carbidopa. Selegiline can help when their response to levodopa/carbidopa starts to weaken. It can reduce 'off' time and improve movement.

vortioxetine

Trintellix is used to treat major depressive disorder (MDD) in adults. MDD can cause you to feel sad, hopeless, and lose interest in things. This medicine can help improve your mood and reduce these symptoms.

How It Works
selegiline

Selegiline is a selective MAO-B inhibitor. It works by blocking an enzyme in the brain that breaks down dopamine. This helps to increase the amount of dopamine available, which can improve motor control in Parkinson's disease.

vortioxetine

Trintellix affects the levels of certain chemicals in the brain. These chemicals, like serotonin, help regulate mood. By changing the balance of these chemicals, Trintellix can help improve symptoms of depression.

Common Side Effects
selegiline
  • Nausea
  • Dizziness
  • Light-headedness
  • Fainting
  • Abdominal pain
vortioxetine
  • Nausea
  • Constipation
  • Vomiting
FAERS Reports
selegiline
  • Trouble sleeping 184
  • Redness where medicine is applied 183
  • Feeling dizzy 168
  • Seeing or hearing things that are not there 166
  • Falling down 137
vortioxetine
  • Feeling sick to your stomach 2,185
  • Feeling very tired 1,179
  • Pain in your head 1,027
  • Feeling worried or nervous 996
  • Throwing up 989
Serious Warnings
selegiline

Taking selegiline with meperidine (Demerol) is dangerous and can cause serious reactions. Also, use caution when taking selegiline with tricyclic antidepressants or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) due to the risk of severe toxicity. One patient had a hypertensive crisis when taking selegiline with a sympathomimetic medicine (ephedrine).

vortioxetine

Antidepressants may increase the risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors in young adults. Your doctor will monitor you closely for worsening depression or suicidal thoughts, especially when you first start taking Trintellix or when your dose is changed. Trintellix is not approved for use in children.

Pregnancy
selegiline

It is not known if selegiline can harm an unborn baby. Talk to your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is also not known if selegiline passes into breast milk, so talk to your doctor if you are breastfeeding.

vortioxetine

Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. Taking Trintellix in the last 3 months of pregnancy may cause problems in the newborn. There is a pregnancy registry to monitor outcomes in women exposed to antidepressants during pregnancy. You can register by calling 1-844-405-6185.

How to Read This selegiline vs vortioxetine Comparison

selegiline is classified in the Selective MAO-B Inhibitor drug class, while vortioxetine sits within the Serotonin Modulator class. Drugs from different classes work through distinct mechanisms, so a head-to-head comparison illustrates trade-offs rather than equivalence. Both drugs are prescription-only, so a licensed provider must authorize use.

Adverse event totals above are pulled from the FDA's Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS). For these top-ranked reactions alone, selegiline has 838 submissions while vortioxetine has 6,376. Those figures reflect cumulative reporting volume, not per-patient risk, so older, widely dispensed drugs typically look worse on count alone. These two drugs have a known moderate interaction flagged in FDA labeling, attributed to both of these drugs work by increasing serotonin in your system. using them at the same time can cause serotonin levels to become dangerously high.. Serious warnings, pregnancy guidance, and contraindications can differ even when indications overlap.

A table cannot substitute for clinical judgment. Effectiveness, tolerability, drug-drug interactions with your other medications, kidney and liver function, pregnancy status, insurance formulary, and price all feed into a decision that only a licensed prescriber can make responsibly. Data here is sourced from FDA Structured Product Labels (SPL) and FAERS, both of which update as manufacturers and clinicians submit new information. This page is for educational purposes only, is not medical advice, and should not be used to self-switch between selegiline and vortioxetine - always consult your physician or pharmacist first.

Important: This comparison is for informational purposes only. Drug effects vary between individuals. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist for personalized medical advice.