Project Summary

Greer M. Murphy, Jr., M.D., Ph.D. (Independent Investigator 2004) of Stanford University, aims to study the pharmacogenetic response of people with major depression to certain antidepressants. Pharmacogenetics seeks to identify DNA markers that can predict medication treatment outcomes. Dr. Murphy has DNA and clinical data from a prospective, double-blind, randomized pharmacogenetic study of 246 cognitively intact patients 65 years of age and older with major depression who were treated with either mirtazapine or paroxetine. This dataset has already yielded important results. Dr. Murphy proposes expanding the study of this unique DNA and clinical resource by identifying additional novel genetic markers, including membrane transporters, signal transduction molecules and neurotrophins, for antidepressant efficacy and side effects. Genetic variants found to predict treatment outcome may be applicable in the clinic to identify patients at risk for medication side effects or poor therapeutic response to mirtazapine or paroxetine. Such patients can then be treated with other antidepressants with different mechanisms of action. In this way patient suffering and wasted health care dollars can be minimized.

Program Area: MOOD DISORDERS\Unipolar Depression

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