Browsing by Author "Weideman, Reinette"

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    The genetics of lithium-induced adverse drug reactions in bipolar disorder patients : a pilot study
    (2013) Weideman, Reinette; Ramesar, Raj; Horn, Neil
    Lithium is regarded as the first-line pharmacotherapy for the treatment of acute mood episodes, suicide prevention and prophylactic treatment in patients with bipolar disorder (BPD). Response to lithium has a strong genetic component and lithium-responders have an increased frequency of BPD among their family members. Lithium has a narrow therapeutic index and 75-90% of patients on long-term lithium treatment experience one or more side effects, such as weight gain, cognitive decline and skin problems, amongst at least 20 side effects. The research project is immersed in a larger project on the genetics of bipolar disorder, in which a large number of individuals in families have been investigated over several years. The present pilot study explored whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within GSK3B, AKT1, ARRB2, GRIA2 and PPPARGC1A could be associated with the incidence and severity of lithium-induced side effects.