PsychopharmacogeneticsGenetic Factors Influencing the Kinetics and Dynamics of Psychotropic Drugs

Treatment of psychiatric disorders requires the use of pharmacotherapy with variable success. Different patients will vary in the response to the same drug. Absence of clear clinical indicators of therapeutic outcome means that selection of treatment is based on a trial/error strategy, with negative results for disease prognosis. This is... read moreof particular importance in psychiatry, as prolonged periods of untreated disease severely affect the chances of recovery.

Mounting evidence suggests that treatment outcome is strongly affected by genetic factors. Genetic investigations in psychiatry are at their most exciting point, in particular pharmacogenetic research, as finally important discoveries unravelling genetic influence in disease and treatment response are being described.

The last decade has seen numerous works studying the genetic components of treatment variability, in the hope to use them as predictors of clinical outcome and as prescription tools for the selection of appropriate treatments according to the patient's genetic predisposition.

The scope of this series is to present recent research advances in identifying genetic influence on the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamics of psychotropic drugs and the attempts being made at using this information for individualisation of treatment.