[New implications for mental disorders treatment: pharmacogenetic studies of dopaminergic and serotonergic...

The aim of this article is to summarize the present state of pharmacogenetical knowledge compiled and based on various publications in this matter. Thanks to developing cloning and DNA-analysis techniques it is possible to analyze numerous proteins synthetized in the central nervous system. Several polymorphism sites in coding genes have already been located--first of all for some genes coding receptors linked to protein G, especially for dopamine and serotonine receptors. Some of mutations may influence the primary structure of receptor protein and in that way be responsible for alteration of receptors functioning. This is likely to be the reason for the difference in reaction to drugs in many patients. A couple of trials dealing with patient's response to neuroleptics in correlation with receptor genes polymorphism have already been completed. The results are promising. The assumption that inventing new drugs should be correlated with collecting DNA samples from patients to evaluate further pharmacogenetical linkage seems to be essential.