6/05/2007
Genetic Variations May Predispose Some Men to Suicidal Thoughts During Short-Term Treatment for Depression
Quote:
Genetic variations may help explain why some men with depression develop suicidal thoughts and behaviors after they begin taking antidepressant medications, while most do not, according to a report in the June issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Although most patients with depression respond favorably to antidepressant medications, a very small subgroup may experience worse symptoms after beginning treatment, according to background information in the article.
Studies that link genes to illnesses are most compelling when there is additional evidence of that gene’s function, the authors note. “We recently observed an association between the same CREB1 polymorphisms and a measure of anger expression among males but not females in a sample of 94 patients with major depressive disorder; hostility and anger expression have also been associated with suicide,” they write.
“If replicated, this finding would suggest that pharmacogenetic testing could facilitate the identification of the small subset of individuals at greater risk during short-term antidepressant treatment,” the authors conclude.
(Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2007;64:689-697. Available pre-embargo to the media at www.jamamedia.org.)
Newswise Medical News | Genetic Variations May Predispose Some Men to Suicidal Thoughts During Short-Term Treatment for Depression
Genetic variations may help explain why some men with depression develop suicidal thoughts and behaviors after they begin taking antidepressant medications, while most do not, according to a report in the June issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Although most patients with depression respond favorably to antidepressant medications, a very small subgroup may experience worse symptoms after beginning treatment, according to background information in the article.
Studies that link genes to illnesses are most compelling when there is additional evidence of that gene’s function, the authors note. “We recently observed an association between the same CREB1 polymorphisms and a measure of anger expression among males but not females in a sample of 94 patients with major depressive disorder; hostility and anger expression have also been associated with suicide,” they write.
“If replicated, this finding would suggest that pharmacogenetic testing could facilitate the identification of the small subset of individuals at greater risk during short-term antidepressant treatment,” the authors conclude.
(Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2007;64:689-697. Available pre-embargo to the media at www.jamamedia.org.)
Newswise Medical News | Genetic Variations May Predispose Some Men to Suicidal Thoughts During Short-Term Treatment for Depression
