Expression of Which Genes Is Associated with Antidepressant Response?

Pharmacotherapy of depression still relies on clinical acumen and trial and error. No reliable clinical or biological predictor of antidepressant response currently exists, nor do we understand which neurobiological markers are related to successful treatment (which would help in developing new treatment strategies). Researchers analyzed data from the GENDEP study to examine the leukocyte mRNA expression of genes related to glucocorticoid receptor function (3 genes), inflammation (9 genes), and neuroplasticity (3 genes) — likely pathophysiologic mechanisms identified in multiple studies of depressed patients.

The 74 depressed patients were treated with citalopram or nortriptyline for 8 weeks. Gene expression was examined in relation to their…