Variants of dopamine and serotonin candidate genes as predictors of response to risperidone treatment in first-episode schizophrenia

Aims: Abnormalities in dopaminergic and serotonergic transmission systems are thought to be involved in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and the mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effects of antipsychotics. We conducted a pharmacogenetic study to evaluate whether variants in dopamine-related genes (DRD1-DRD5, AKT1 and GSK3β) and serotonin receptor genes (HTR1A, HTR1B, HTR1D, HTR2A, HTR2C, HTR6 and HTR7) can be used to predict the efficacy of risperidone treatment for schizophrenia. Materials & methods: A total of 120 first-episode neuroleptic-naive schizophrenia patients were treated with risperidone monotherapy for 8 weeks and clinical symptoms were evaluated by the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. Results: Among the 30 variants that we examined, two SNPs in DRD2 (-241A>G [rs1799978] and TaqIA, [rs1800497]) and two SNPs in AKT1 (AKT1-SNP1 [rs3803300] and AKT1-SNP5 [rs2494732]) were significant predictors of treatment response to risperidone. Conclusion: These data suggest that the SNPs in DRD2 and AKT1 may intluence the treatment response to risperidone in schizophrenia patients.