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Updated: Apr 30, 2026

Candidate Gene Testing in Clinical Cohort Studies with Multiplexed Genotyping and Mass Spectrometry
Published on: June 21, 2018
759C/T Variants of the Serotonin (5-HT2C) Receptor Gene and Weight Gain in Children and Adolescents in Long-Term
Nicole Del Castillo1, Bridget Zimmerman M2, Billie Tyler3
1Department of Psychiatry, The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, USA.
Background:
Great inter-individual variability exists in the susceptibility to gain weight during antipsychotic treatment. Thus, we examined whether the -759C/T variants in the promoter region of the 5HT2C receptor gene were differentially associated with weight gain in children and adolescents in long-term risperidone treatment.
Methods:
Medically healthy 7 to 17 year-olds, treated with risperidone for ≥ six months, were enrolled. Anthropometric measurements, laboratory tests, and treatment history were obtained upon enrollment and from medical records. The effect of the genotype on the trajectory of age-sex-adjusted weight and body mass index (BMI) z scores before and after the onset of risperidone treatment was investigated.
Results:
In 124 subjects (90% males, mean age: 11.8 years) treated with risperidone for a mean of 2.8 years, weight and BMI z scores significantly increased after starting risperidone. This change was similar across the two genotype groups as were changes in several cardiometabolic variables.
Conclusion:
In contrast to other reports, the T allele failed to confer protection against excessive weight gain or cardiometabolic abnormalities in this group of children and adolescents chronically treated with risperidone.
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