Selegiline is also delivered via a transdermal patch used as a treatment for major depressive disorder.
Administration of transdermal selegiline bypasses hepatic first pass metabolism. This avoids inhibition of gastrointestinal and hepatic MAO-A activity, which would result in an increase of food-borne tyramine in the blood and possible related adverse effects, while allowing for a sufficient amount of selegiline to reach the brain for an antidepressant effect.
A quantitative review published in 2015 found that for the pooled results of the pivotal trials, the number needed to treat (a sign of effect size, so a low number is better) for the patch for symptom reduction was 11, and for remission, was 9. The number needed to harm (inverse of the NNT, a high number here is better) ranged from 387 for sexual side effects to 7 for application site reaction. With regard to the likelihood to be helped or harmed (LHH), the analysis showed that the selegiline patch was 3.6 times as likely to lead to a remission vs. a discontinuation due to side effects; the LHH for remission vs. incidence of insomnia was 2.1; the LHH for remission vs. discontinuation due to insomnia was 32.7. The LHH for remission vs. insomnia and sexual dysfunction were both very low.