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Gene key in weight gain from psychiatric drugs NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Weight gain is a common side effect of antipsychotic drugs for schizophrenia, but variations in a particular gene may determine a patient's susceptibility, new research suggests. Investigators found that schizophrenia patients with a less-common variation in a gene known as 5-HT2C were much less vulnerable to weight gain after starting on antipsychotic drugs. After 10 weeks of treatment, 15% of these patients had gained 7% of their initial body weight - in contrast to 51% of patients without the gene variation. Dr. Gavin P. Reynolds, of the University of Sheffield, UK, and his colleagues report the findings in the June 15th issue of The Lancet. The 5-HT2C gene governs a receptor for the brain chemical serotonin, and a number of antipsychotic drugs, such as clozapine, act on this receptor--which, according to the researchers, could contribute to the substantial weight gain associated with them. They note that this side effect can affect patients' adherence to treatment. But using genetic analysis to figure out which patients might be particularly susceptible to various side effects could eventually help doctors tailor treatment to the individual, according to Reynolds. Reynolds and his colleagues studied 123 patients hospitalized for schizophrenia in China, focusing on a particular variant in the 5-HT2C gene known as -759C/T. They found that 18% of men and 26% of women carried the variant. And these patients appeared to be protected against substantial drug-related weight gain, at least in the short-term. The researchers point out, however, that they studied only one of several variations in the 5-HT2C that could affect body weight. Last Updated: 2002-06-14 11:00:28 -0400 (Reuters Health) SOURCE: The Lancet 2002;359:2086-2087. Copyright 2002 Reuters Limited. http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2002/06/14/eline/links/20020614elin007. html janet paterson: an akinetic rigid subtype, albeit primarily perky, parky pd: 55/41/37 cd: 55/44/43 tel: 613 256 8340 email: [log in to unmask] smail: 375 Country Street, Almonte, Ontario, Canada, K0A 1A0 a new voice website: http://www.geocities.com/janet313/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn