Korean J Psychopharmacol.  2004 Sep;15(3):312-318.

Association between Clozapine-Induced Weight Gain and Serotonin 5-HT2C Receptor Gene Polymorphism in Patients with Schizophrenia

• Shin DH
• Kim CM
• Kim HJ
• Chung YI

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
Weight gain is one of the troublesome adverse reaction to clozapine treatment. This problem can lead to poor adherence to treatment. Clozapine-induced weight gain may be associated with genetic predisposition. Recent studies have shown that a polymorphism of the promoter region of the serotonin 5-HT2C receptor gene is associated with antipsychotic-induced weight gain. This study is to investigate the association of clozapine-induced weight gain with -759C/T polymorphism of serotonin 5-HT2C receptor promoter gene in schizophrenic patients. METHODS: Fifty three patients with schizophrenia were included in this study. The subjects were divided into two groups according to body weight change between the start and 10 weeks of clozapine. The cutoff level of weight change is 5% increase of initial body weight. Genotypes of -759C/T polymorphism were identified from AciI-digested fragments of two-primer products amplified by polymerase chain reaction corresponding to -885 to -634 of the serotonin 5-HT2C receptor gene promoter region on chromosome X. RESULTS: There were no differences of baseline variables between patient groups with and without weight gain. 4 of 32 male patients and 6 of 21 female patients had -759T allele, respectively. The authors found that patients with -759T allele had tendency to show less weight gain than those without this allele. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that clozapine- induced weight gain may be associated with genetic predisposition in schizophrenic patients.

Keyword

Clozapine; Weight gain; 5-HT2C receptor; Polymorphism

MeSH Terms

Alleles
Body Weight
Body Weight Changes
Clozapine
Female
Genetic Predisposition to Disease
Genotype
Humans
Male
Polymerase Chain Reaction
Promoter Regions, Genetic
Receptor, Serotonin, 5-HT2C*
Schizophrenia*
Serotonin*
Weight Gain*
Clozapine
Receptor, Serotonin, 5-HT2C
Serotonin