metyrosine

Description: Metirosine (alpha-Methyltyrosine, Metyrosine, AMPT) is an antihypertensive drug that acts by inhibiting the enzyme tyrosine hydroxylase and, therefore, catecholamine synthesis, which, as a consequence, depletes the levels of the catecholamines dopamine, adrenaline and noradrenaline in the body. Metirosine has been shown to suppress catecholamine synthesis and alleviate symptoms related to catecholamine excess, including hypertension, headache, tachycardia, constipation, and tremor. Metirosine is primarily used to reduce these symptoms in patients with pheochromocytoma. It is contraindicated for the treatment of essential hypertension. However it is now rarely used in medicine, its primary use being in scientific research to investigate the effects of catecholamine depletion on behavior. There is evidence that catecholamine depletion causes a increase in sleepiness that is more pronounced than sleep deprivation, and that the fatigue lingers after the drug is discontinued. Negative mood is also a reported side effect of catecholamine depletion, although this is reported less consistently than sleepiness.

References: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metirosine