Genetic analysis can improve depression therapy

(Karolinska Institutet) The failure of SSRI antidepressants can be a result of genetic variations in patients. Variations within the gene that encodes the CYP2C19 enzyme results in extreme differences in the levels of escitalopram achieved in patients, according to a new study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and Diakonhjemmet Hospital in Norway published in The American Journal of Psychiatry. Prescribing the dose of escitalopram based on a patient's specific genetic constitution would greatly improve therapeutic outcomes.
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news