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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 | 3 | Next >> Different people respond differently to different medications, and that's true for a wide variety of drugs, not just antidepressants. But with depression, especially, some patients respond happily to the first medication they try, while others have to go through a frustrating trial-and-error process before finding the right solution for their illness, if they find a solution at all.
The Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression (STAR*D) trial, the largest effectiveness study ever done on depression, examined the benefits of antidepressants in "real world" settings.
SSRIs are considered among the most effective treatments available for depression. However, doctors haven't had good evidence on the best course of action to take if or when a patient fails to respond to a particular SSRI.
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The STAR*D trial was designed to answer that question.
An earlier analysis of STAR*D data had found that people with a variation in the HTR2A gene were more likely to respond to Celexa.
For this analysis, the researchers looked at DNA from more than 1,800 patients who had also participated in the STAR*D trial, comparing genes in people who had responded to Celexa and those who hadn't.
This time, it appeared that people with a variation in the GRIK4 gene had a higher likelihood of responding to the drug. The researchers also confirmed that the HTR2A variation also made people more likely to respond.
HTR2A produces a protein that acts as a receptor for serotonin, a neurotransmitter long implicated in depression.
GRIK4 makes a protein that acts as a receptor for the glutamate neurotransmitter system, which is beginning to be implicated in depression.
"This gives us very relevant information to where we should be looking. We are understanding that glutamate receptors are important for antidepressant outcomes," Laje said.
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