Genetic variants used as predictors of response in the pharmacological treatment of depression in the brazilian population

Abstract

Depression is one of the most frequent mental illnesses in the world and the lack of response to antidepressants are linked to genetic variants. The genetic diversity of Brazilian population may contribute to a variability in the response to these drugs, and this study aimed to assess how genetic variants are clinically and scientifically in the context of therapeutic response to depression in the Brazilian population. This work was carried out through a survey in literature and information obtained from genetic laboratories about the variants used in Brazil as biomarkers of response to antidepressants. Data from scientific studies published since 2000 that evaluated genetic variants that are related to the response to antidepressants in Brazilian populations, in the PubMed, Scielo, Scopus and Web of Science databases were also collected and compared with the international scenario. All laboratories evaluated included variants of CYP2D6 and CYP2C19 genes approved by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as biomarkers. However, the Brazilian genetic panels include variants that lack proven efficacy in PharmGKB and are not FDA-approved, highlighting the need for more regulation of commercialized tests and further studies on genetic variant analysis for depression treatment in our population. A limited number of Brazilian studies in this field were verified, highlighting the need for more regulation of commercialized tests and further studies on genetic variant for depression treatment in our population.