Therapeutic Response to Paroxetine in Major Depressive Disorder Predicted by DNA Methylation

Background: Antidepressants have variable therapeutic effects, depending on genetic and environmental factors. Approximately 30% of major depressive disorder (MDD) patients do not respond significantly to antidepressants such as paroxetine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). However, the biological mechanisms behind this phenomenon are mostly unknown. Here, we examined the role of patients' epigenetic background in SSRI efficacy.Methods: Genome-wide DNA methylation analysis of the peripheral blood of Japanese MDD patients was performed by using the Infinium HumanMethylation450 BeadChip.Results: We compared the results of the 10 patients who best responded to paroxetine (BR) with the 10 worst responders (WR), and found 623 CpG sites with a>10% difference in DNA methylation level. Among them, 218 sites were nominally significant between BR and WR (p
Source: Neuropsychobiology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research