SSRI INDUCED ALCOHOLISM, VIOLENCE AND BEHAVIOURS WITHIN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21247998

Am J Psychiatry. 2011 Mar;168(3):265-75. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2010.10050755. Epub 2011 Jan 19.
Pharmacogenetic approach at the serotonin transporter gene as a method of reducing the severity of alcohol drinking.

Johnson BA1, Ait-Daoud N, Seneviratne C, Roache JD, Javors MA, Wang XQ, Liu L, Penberthy JK, DiClemente CC, Li MD.
Author information
Erratum in
Am J Psychiatry. 2011 Jul;168(7):756.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE:
Severe drinking can cause serious morbidity and death. Because the serotonin transporter (5-HTT) is an important regulator of neuronal 5-HT function, allelic differences at that gene may modulate the severity of alcohol consumption and predict therapeutic response to the 5-HT(3) receptor antagonist, ondansetron.
METHOD:
The authors randomized 283 alcoholics by genotype in the 5'-regulatory region of the 5-HTT gene (LL/LS/SS), with additional genotyping for another functional single-nucleotide polymorphism (T/G), rs1042173, in the 3'-untranslated region, in a double-blind controlled trial. Participants received either ondansetron (4 μg/kg twice daily) or placebo for 11 weeks, plus standardized cognitive-behavioral therapy.
RESULTS:
Individuals with the LL genotype who received ondansetron had a lower mean number of drinks per drinking day (-1.62) and a higher percentage of days abstinent (11.27%) than those who received placebo. Among ondansetron recipients, the number of drinks per drinking day was lower (-1.53) and the percentage of days abstinent higher (9.73%) in LL compared with LS/SS individuals. LL individuals in the ondansetron group also had a lower number of drinks per drinking day (-1.45) and a higher percentage of days abstinent (9.65%) than all other genotype and treatment groups combined. For both number of drinks per drinking day and percentage of days abstinent, 5'-HTTLPR and rs1042173 variants interacted significantly. LL/TT individuals in the ondansetron group had a lower number of drinks per drinking day (-2.63) and a higher percentage of days abstinent (16.99%) than all other genotype and treatment groups combined.
CONCLUSIONS:
The authors propose a new pharmacogenetic approach using ondansetron to treat severe drinking and improve abstinence in alcoholics.
Comment in
Betting on biomarkers. [Am J Psychiatry. 2011]
PMID: 21247998 PMCID: PMC3063997 DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2010.10050755
[Indexed for MEDLINE] Free PMC Article
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Google+
Images from this publication.See all images (3)Free text
Figure 1Figure 2Figure 3
Publication types, MeSH terms, Substances, Grant support