1,721,005 research outputs found
From molecular biology to pharmacogenetics: a review of the literature on antidepressant treatment and suggestions of possible candidate genes.
No full textEthical problems in pharmacogenetic studies of psychiatric disorders
No full texthttp://dx.doi.org/10.1038/sj.tpj.650038
Pharmacogenetics in the treatment of depression: pharmacodynamic studies.
No full textThe pharmacological treatment of mood disorders has reduced their morbidity and improved mental health for millions of individuals worldwide, favouring a considerable reduction of the direct and indirect costs caused by these common pathologies. Unfortunately, not all individuals benefit, and 30-40% of patients do not show a complete response to treatment. Efficient clinical predictors are not available, although genetic factors are thought to play a substantial (but complex) role in the antidepressant response. Pharmacogenetics, which investigates the influence of genetic features on the pharmacological response, has gained increasing attention and holds great promise for clinical psychiatry. Here, a brief overview is provided on the various pharmacogenetic studies published to date that analyse the commonest treatments for depression: antidepressants, sleep deprivation and lithium salts
The 5-HT2C receptor as a target for mood disorders.
No full textThe serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine2C [5-HT2C]) receptor is one of the 5-HT receptors with a G-protein-coupled intracellular signalling pathway. A large number of compounds showing antidepressive, antipsychotic and anxiolytic properties, and affecting sleep patterns, feeding behaviour and neuroendocrine functions, target this subtype of receptor. The potential use of 5-HT2C receptor ligands in psychiatry has been suggested as a result of a number of observations from animal and in vitro experiments. The results of studies performed suggest that some of the therapeutic effects of the selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) may be mediated, at least in part, by the 5-HT2C receptor. The long-term downregulation of 5-HT2C receptors is associated with their interaction with some SSRIs and may lead to disinhibition of the mesolimbic dopamine system, which may be partly responsible for their antidepressant action. Nevertheless, current evidence does not allow complete definition of 5-HT2C receptor functions and properties. Concerning genetics, there are no unequivocal results for the involvement of polymorphisms of the 5-HT2C receptor, and no studies on their association with an antidepressant response have ever been performed. This paper reviews some of the studies on this 5-HT receptor subtype, focusing on its possible importance as a target for mood disorder therapy
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Genes involved in Alzheimer's disease, a survey of possible candidates
No full textAlzheimer's disease (AD) is the major cause of dementia in the elderly. It is characterized by a progressive deterioration in memory and cognitive functions, but also behavioral symptoms are common. Many different genes are possibly involved in Alzheimer's Disease: four genetic factors were confirmed in different studies, while at least 50 additional genes were tested with contrasting results. A major aim both for clinician and researchers would be the identification of the genes involved in AD, to better understand the biological mechanism of this disease and consequently to develop appropriate treatments. The aim of this review is to explore genetics of AD
Serotonin transporter gene-linked polymorphic region: possible pharmacogenetic implications of rare variants
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