New study replicates association between genetic variation and antidepressant treatmen...( Philadelphia PA July 15 2008 Pharma...),Health
Philadelphia, PA, July 15, 2008 Pharmacogenetics, the study of genetic variation that influences an individual's response to drugs, is an important and growing focus in all of medical research, including psychiatry. It is a complex field, however, revealed by the lack of consistent and replicable findings across multiple studies, but some encouraging results are beginning to emerge. A new study scheduled for publication in the June 15th issue of Biological Psychiatry evaluated genetic markers in the treatment response of antidepressants and this work implicates the same markers as found in a prior trial.
Lekman and colleagues, using clinical data and DNA samples from the largest depression treatment study to date, the STAR*D study, compared individual treatment response (the reduction or remission of depressive symptoms) to individual genotypes. The researchers found that certain markers, or variations, in the FKBP5 gene are associated with treatment response to citalopram, a widely used antidepressant drug. In other words, patients with a particular genotype tended to respond better to the antidepressant treatment than others. Silvia Paddock, Ph.D., corresponding author on this article, further explains: "Our results are encouraging, because they support earlier findings by a German group implicating the same gene. It is promising to see the same genetic markers to be associated with response in hospitalized patients in the German study, as well as non-hospitalized patients in our study."
John H. Krystal, M.D., Editor of Biological Psychiatry and affiliated with both Yale University School of Medicine and the VA Connecticut Healthcare System, explains some background of this important gene: "FKBP5 is a gene that codes for a protein that influences the molecular actions of a class of stress hormones, the glucocorticoids. In prior studies, variation in this gene was associated with the emergence of dissociative symptoms in trauma
'/>"/>
| Contact: Jayne Dawkins ja.dawkins@elsevier.com 215-239-3674 Elsevier Source:Eurekalert |
Related medicine news :
1. Penn study finds pro-death proteins required to regulate healthy immune function
2. New study shows promise in reducing surgical risks associated with surgical bleeding
3. Study, meta-analysis examine factors associated with death from heatstroke
4. Study suggests loss of 2 types of neurons -- not just 1 -- triggers Parkinsons symptoms
5. Study says COPD testing is not measuring up
6. Preclinical study suggests organ-transplant drug may aid in lupus fight
7. Ability to cope with stress can increase good cholesterol in older white men, study finds
8. High alcohol consumption increases stroke risk, Tulane study says
9. Mailman School of Public Health study examines link between racial discrimination and substance use
10. Pitt study finds inequality in tobacco advertising
11. Stanford study highlights cost-effective method of lowering heart disease risks
| Copyright © 2003-2009 Bio-Medicine. All rights reserved. ABOUT | CONTACT US | DISCLAIMER | PRIVACY POLICY | TERMS AND CONDITIONS |  |