Psychiatry Investig.
2013 Jun;10(2):180-189.
No Effect of Serotoninergic Gene Variants on Response to Interpersonal Counseling and Antidepressants in Major Depression
- Affiliations
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- 1Department of Biomedical and NeuroMotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy. alessandro.serretti@unibo.it
- 2Department of Experimental Pathology, Medical Biotechnology, Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
- 3Department of Health Sciences, Section of Psychiatry, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy.
- 4Neuroscience Department, Turin University, Turin, Italy.
- 5Inter-University Centre for Behavioural Neurosciences (ICBN), University of Verona, Verona and DPMSC, Section of Psychiatry, University of Udine, Udine, Italy.
- 6Department of Psychiatry, Bucheon St. Mary's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea College of Medicine, Bucheon, Republic of Korea.
- 7Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE
Gene variants within the serotonin pathway have been associated with major depressive disorder (MDD) treatment outcomes, however a possible different modulation on pharmacological or psychological treatments has never been investigated.
METHODS
One hundred sixty MDD patients were partially randomized to either inter-personal counseling (IPC) or antidepressants. The primary outcome was remission at week 8. Five serotonergic polymorphisms were investigated (COMT rs4680, HTR1A rs6295, HTR2A rs2224721, HTR2A rs7997012 and SLC6A4 rs421417).
RESULTS
IPC (n=43) and antidepressant (n=117) treated patients did not show any difference in remission rates at week 8 (corrected for baseline severity, age and center). None of the studied gene variants impacted on response and remission rates at week 8 neither in the IPC nor in the antidepressant group. An analysis of the whole sample showed a trend of association between rs7997012 AA genotype and a better treatment outcome.
CONCLUSION
Our study confirms that IPC is an effective psychological intervention comparable to antidepressants in mild-moderate MDD. Polymorphisms related to the serotonin system did not exert a major effect on clinical outcomes in none of the treatment groups.
Keyword
MeSH Terms
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Antidepressive Agents
Counseling
Depression
Depressive Disorder, Major
Genotype
Humans
Psychotherapy
Receptor, Serotonin, 5-HT1A
Receptor, Serotonin, 5-HT2A
Serotonin
Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins
Antidepressive Agents
Receptor, Serotonin, 5-HT1A
Receptor, Serotonin, 5-HT2A
Serotonin
Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins
