Theory and practice of psychopharmacogenetics

This article attempts to elucidate the theory and practice of psychopharmacogenetics. Eight working models were identified and characterized with a distinct view of risk factors in the host, the pathophysiology of disease, and the strategies for optimum therapy. The biochemical culprits related to adverse drug reaction in each case can be used to identify a risk and thus contribute to prevention research. Since the phenomenology of these uncommon conditions covers a broad spectrum of neuropsychiatric manifestations, the insights they generated might presage a better understanding of the natural history of a wider range of mental disorders associated with genetic vulnerability. The emerging information suggests that psychopharmacogenetics could be defined from clinical perspectives as multidimensional analysis of genes, drugs, and behaviour for the treatment and prevention of psychiatric disorders.