Genetic testing shows how your liver’s CYP450 enzymes break down antidepressants. That points to a drug your body handles well. In a US Department of Veterans Affairs study of 2,000 patients, those who were tested improved more at 12 weeks. But the gap was no longer statistically significant at 24 weeks.
Summary: Depression is the most common mental health disorder. It may affect most people at some point in life, and 8.4% of Americans live with severe depression, also called major depression. Dozens of medicines and telehealth treatment are available, and patients take them for years. Yet many get no benefit from long treatment. The new study shows genetic testing may help find the right antidepressants for each patient. That can help improve results.
For people with depression, getting treatment that helps is a big problem. Millions of people still live with depression despite taking many medicines. The new study gives hope. It shows genetic testing may help improve results.
Anxiety and depression are the two most common mood disorders. These are also the most common mental health disorders globally. Among the two, depression is a more severe condition since it is associated with fatal outcomes. People with severe or major depression may show suicidal tendencies. Depression may affect about one-third of adults in their lifetime. Fortunately, most are affected by mild to moderate depression, which is often a self-limiting mental health issue. However, US data suggests that about 8.4% or 21 million US adults may experience major depressive episodes. Unlike mild to moderate depression, major depression is a severe illness requiring pharmacological treatment. Some signs of major depression include lack of sleep, energy, concentration, low self-worth, and even suicidal thoughts. Thus, it is something that must be treated in all cases.
Identifying the right antidepressant is challenging
There is a plethora of antidepressant drugs. However, the problem is that none of these medications work for all; thus, choosing the proper medication is a significant challenge. Even worse, many fail to experience substantial benefits even after taking multiple drugs. In addition, many fail to respond to prolonged drug therapy. Although there are many antidepressants, the major problem is finding the right drug that may work for that particular individual. There is no reliable way to know which drug is the best for a given patient. However, if there were a way or medical test that could suggest the right antidepressant for an individual, then the treatment would be much better.
Genetic testing may help identify the right antidepressant for an individual
It appears that a study by the US Department of Veterans Affairs has identified the way of finding the right drug for various patients. They have also found a way to improve the efficacy of the treatment. In addition, specific genetic tests may help identify the right kind of drugs for various patients.
This genetic test does not look for depression or depression genes. It looks at how a person breaks down certain medicines. For example, the liver breaks down all antidepressants. It uses CYP450 enzymes to do it. These enzymes seem more active in some people and less active in others. So one person may clear the same antidepressant fast, and another much slower. That is why the same drug works better for some people than for others.
The study included 2,000 patients, and researchers ran gene tests. They found that 59% of patients who had gene testing could get medicines with no known drug-gene clash. In the group without testing, only 26% got such medicines. Genetic testing helps pick the right medicines. At 12 weeks, depression symptoms dropped much more in tested patients than in untested ones. But at about 24 weeks, the difference between the two groups was not statistically significant.
This study shows genetic testing may help bring faster relief from major depression in many cases. But over the long run, it does not seem to change results much. It is one of the first studies of its kind. That matters because it had a large sample size (number of people). So the study is highly reliable. Still, more studies are needed before doctors start recommending genetic tests for major depression. But this study confirms genetic testing can be part of treating major depression. It can help pick the right antidepressants.
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