Genetic variants associated with clozapine plasma concentrations
What is it about?
Clozapine is the only effective medication for treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS), but its worldwide use is still very limited. The risk of serious adverse reactions, some related to high plasma concentrations, requires complex dosing protocols that are onerous for both patients and clinicians. The authors used a genome-wide association study to search for genetic polymorphisms associated to clozapine plasma concentrations in a large sample of 2,989 TRS patients. They discovered four genomic regions that harbour variants that influence different aspects of clozapine metabolism. Some of these variants showed large effects, and might be suitable to be prioritised for further basic and applied research related to the clinical management of TRS patients.