Pharmacogenetics and Schizophrenia

Emergent pharmacogenetic studies indicate that the efficacy of antipsychotic medications in schizophrenia may be predicted through genetic analysis. There also is evidence that the side-effect profiles of second-generation antipsychotic medications and their propensity to cause weight gain, glucose and lipid abnormalities, and tardive dyskinesia may be predicted by pharmacogenetic analysis in this patient population. In the future, this targeted approach with the choice of antipsychotic medication based on the likelihood of clinical response and development of side effects in light of a particular patient's genetic status may gain hold as new treatments are developed with even fewer side effects.