Genetic testing may help determine the most effective medications for depressed patients in the future. This month, the American Journal of Psychiatry published research citing patients' responses to the anti-depressant medication, Celexa, in association with certain genetic variations.
According to Dr. Gonzalo Laje, co-author of the study and associate clinical investigator at the National Institute of Mental Health, patients were twenty-three percent more likely to respond to the medication when a particular variation in the GRIK4 gene, along with a previously discovered variation on the HTRZA gene, were present.
"We are better able to see how genetic variations help determine how a person may or may not respond to a certain medication. This is an advancement toward personalized medicine," said Laje.
The healthcare and health insurance industries have been plagued with medical and financial issues associated with depression. In 2002, adults served by local mental health authorities in Texas included over 53,000 depression patients -- and that number only includes those who sought care at those facilities, which, by no means, reflected the whole of the depressed populace at the time.
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