Associations between Serotonergic Genes and Escitalopram Treatment Responses in Patients with Depressive Disorder and Acute Coronary Syndrome: The EsDEPACS Study

• Published in: Psychiatry investigation Vol. 13; no. 1; pp. 157 - 160
• Main Authors: Kang, Hee-Ju, Bae, Kyung-Yeol, Kim, Sung-Wan, Shin, Il-Seon, Hong, Young Joon, Ahn, Youngkeun, Jeong, Myung Ho, Park, Sung-Woo, Kim, Young-Hoon, Yoon, Jin-Sang, Kim, Jae-Min
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Korea (South) Korean Neuropsychiatric Association 01.01.2016; 대한신경정신의학회
• Subjects: Brief Report; 정신과학; Depression; Serotonin transporter; Acute coronary syndrome; Serotonin receptor; Pharmacogenetic study
• ISSN: 1738-3684; 1976-3026
• DOI: 10.4306/pi.2016.13.1.157

Genes related to serotonin are associated with responses to treatment for depression. We examined associations between the serotonin transporter (5-HTT) and serotonin 2a receptor (5-HTR2a) genes and responses to treatment for depressive disorders in acute coronary syndrome (ACS). A total of 255 patients who met the DSM-IV major or minor depressive disorder and recently developed ACS were randomly assigned to the escitalopram (n=127) or placebo (n=128) group in this 24-week double-blind trial (ClinicalTrial.gov identifier: NCT00419471). Remission was defined as a Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAMD) score ≤7. Assays were performed for the 5-HTTLPR, STin2 VNTR, 5-HTR2a 102T/C, and 5-HTR2a 1438A/G genotypes. Escitalopram was superior to placebo for treating depressive disorder with ACS but there were no significant associations between serotonergic genes and treatment responses even when considering ACS severity. The effect of escitalopram was independent of 5-HTT and 5-HTR2a polymorphisms.