This is the first study in the treatment of depression in dual diagnosis patients to report a significant association between outcomes with escitalopram and the 5-HTTLPR gene polymorphism.
This study aimed to investigate whether polymorphisms of interest in 5-HTT, 5-HTR2a, and BDNF genes are associated with depression after mastectomy for breast cancer.
These observations of higher frequency of the 5-HTTLPR S allele in subjects with past/present depression fit with previous findings and point to the important role of 5-HTT in depression.
An intriguing finding is that the low expression short allele variant of 5-HTTLPR is best conceived as a gene that affects malleability or plasticity rather than specific vulnerability to depression.
One possible explanation is an epistatic relationship with other neurotransmitter genes associated with depression risk, such as the serotonin-transporter-linked promotor region (5-HTTLPR).
Genotypes of the solute carrier family 6 (neurotransmitter transporter, serotonin) member 4 (SLC6A4) have been variously associated with depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, memory impairment, and anxiety.
Using multiple regression models, we found that 5-HTTLPR genotype (especially in dominant models) accounted for a significant portion of the variance in SCID Depression and SANS (about 5%).
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), such as citalopram, which selectively block serotonin transporter (5-HTT) activity, are widely used in the treatment of depression and anxiety disorders.
As impaired serotonergic and dopaminergic neurotransmission is implicated in the pathogenesis of depression and schizophrenia this study sought to investigate the putative association between several functional gene polymorphisms (SERT5-HTTLPR, MAO-A VNTR, COMT Val158Met and DAT VNTR) and schizophrenia.
Our findings underscore the need to move beyond a bi-allelic parameterization of the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism and raise questions about why East Asian populations exhibit low rates of depression despite a high frequency of the S allele.
1) Suicide attempters scored highest on the CDSS, while no differences between the three clinical subgroups were detected in the PANSS scores; 2) Suicide attempters were more frequently the carriers of L(A) allele, while subjects in the comparative group were more frequently the carriers of low expression 5-HTTLPR/5-HTT rs25531 haplotype SL(G); 3) No difference was found between the three clinical groups in the 5-HTT VNTR In2 variants; 4) Subjects with 5-HTTLPR/5-HTTrs25531 intermediate expression haplotype (L(A)L(G,)SL(A)) scored higher on the PANSS general psychopathology subscale; 5) There was no association between suicide attempt or ideation and 5-HTTLPR/In2 or 5-HTTLPR/rs25531/In2 haplotype distribution.
DNA samples from 55 pediatric patients with depression and 58 healthy schoolchildren were genotyped for the 5-HTT (2 short (S) alleles at the 5-HTT locus) promoter serotonin-transporter-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) polymorphism.
In the present study, the number of 5-HT- and TPH-positive cells, and expression of 5-HT<sub>1A</sub> and 5-HTT protein decreased in dorsal raphe, and depression and anxiety like behavior increased in HFD group compared with the CON group.
These findings indicate that 5-HTTLPR genetic variability appears to influence the association between stress-related factors and late-life depression, although the gene-environment interactions failed to reach statistical significance levels.
Since the 5-HT network is involved in interferon (IFN)-induced depression, this paper aimed to investigate the role of alexithymia and the functional gene variants of the 5-HT1A receptor (HTR1A) and the 5-HT transporter (5-HTTLPR) in induction of depression during antiviral treatment.
Although the serotonin neurotransmitter system is closely associated with depression and the effects of nicotine, the authors are not aware of any studies that have evaluated the possible role of individual differences in serotonin transporter (5-HTT) genotype and depressive symptoms as moderators of the effects of NRT on SWM.
The BDNF and the serotonin transporter gene length polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) and BDNF may contribute to depression through distinct mechanisms involving interactions with childhood and adulthood adversity respectively, which may, in combination, be responsible for a substantial proportion of depression burden in the general population.
5-HTTLPR and BDNF VAL66MET, functional polymorphisms of the serotonin (5-HT) transporter (SLC6A4) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene, impact on two distinct, but interacting signaling systems, which have been related to depression and to the modulation of neurogenesis and plasticity of circuitries of emotion processing.
According to this rationale, we investigated the role of two functional polymorphisms in the genes coding for the serotonin transporter (5-HTTLPR) and the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF Val66Met), and rTMS response in a group of 36 drug resistant patients affected by mood disorders. rTMS treatment significantly improved depression symptomatology (p<0.0001) and the response was significantly greater in 5-HTTLPR LL homozygotes compared to S allele carriers (p=0.007) and in BDNF Val/Val homozygotes compared to Met allele carriers (p=0.024).