Patients with Schizophrenia

Introduction: Genetic polymorphisms of cytochrome P450 (CYP) may predict the treatment response or occurrence of side effects of antipsychotic drugs.Aim: We studied the association of response to clozapine treatment in schizophrenic patients in relation to polymorphisms in the CYP1A2 gene.Methods: The degree of psychosis of the patients (n=55) was assessed using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), the Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms (SAPS), the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS) and routine biochemistry. The patients were monitored for 18 weeks and the scales were applied before starting the treatment and at the end of the follow up period. Clozapine was used at doses of 200 to 600 mg/day. A positive response was defined as a 20% decrease in pre- and post-treatment scores of one of the BPRS, SANS, or SAPS scores. In addition, 45 patients, who were already on clozapine treatment, were assessed retrospectively.Results: As assessed at the 18(th) week after start of therapy, lack of response to clozapine treatment was 2.4 fold higher in the patients carrying the CYP1A2*1F*1F genotype (p=0.02) compared to patients carrying at least one wild type allele (i.e. *1/*1 or *1/*1F). Smoking decreased the response rate by about 15% (p=0.014).Conclusion: The results of our study suggest that the CYP1A2*1F/*1F genotype may be a risk factor for lack of response to clozapine treatment in psychotic patients, especially in cigarette smokers

Turkish patients with treatment-resistant schizophrenia

Background: Several lines of evidence suggest that clozapine is more effective than both first- and second-generation antipsychotic drugs in treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS). However, clinicians appear to be hesitant to prescribe this drug. it would therefore be extremely valuable if predictors of response to clozapine could be identified. The aim of this study was to evaluate the predictive factors of clinical responses to clozapine in a group of Turkish patients with TRS.Methods: This was a 16-week uncontrolled open study carried out among 97 TRS patients (80 males and 17 females; DSM-IV diagnosis). All patients fulfilled the criteria for refractory schizophrenia according to the UK guidelines for the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE). After all previous antipsychotic medications had run their course, the patients were started on clozapine according to a standardized titration and dosage schedule. Psychopathology was evaluated before the initiation of clozapine therapy and once every 4 weeks using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), the Scale for the Assessment for Positive Symptoms, and the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms.Results: Of the TRS patients on clozapine, 55.7% achieved a clinical response, defined as at least a 20% decrease in BPRS. We observed a favorable effect of clozapine on both positive and negative symptoms. Logistic regression analysis showed that a good clozapine response was more likely when schizophrenia began at a later age, when negative symptoms were severe, and when patients had an early response at 4 weeks.Conclusion: A combination of demographic, baseline clinical, and acute treatment response variables may accurately predict response to clozapine in TRS. Priority should be given to initiating clozapine at the earliest phase of TRS, especially for patients with evident negative symptoms. (C) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved