Browse by author
Lookup NU author(s): Professor Michael Barr
Full text for this publication is not currently held within this repository. Alternative links are provided below where available.
Depressive disorders are a focus of growing social and economic concern. While antidepressant medications are widely accepted, they are ineffective for nearly 40% of users, and cause numerous adverse drug reactions. The pharmacogenomics of depression attempts to better understand the role of genetic variation in antidepressant metabolism in the hope of improving drug efficacy and tolerability. However, the development and delivery of genome-based antidepressants face many hurdles. In this paper we provide an overview of the potential impact of the pharmacogenomics of depression on public mental health care by focusing on the social and ethical issues at stake. These include questions about genetic testing, informed consent, drug access, and market fragmentation. We end the paper with a brief discussion of the wider context and how the pharmacogenomics of depression relates to broader trends in psychiatry and biomedicine.
Author(s): Barr MT, Singh I, Rose N
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Journal of Public Mental Health
Year: 2005
Volume: 4
Issue: 3
Pages: 33-41
ISSN (electronic): 1746-5729
URL: http://metapress.com/content/v787jm792604h11t/?p=eb41031e138944729a7c2f00636b1263&pi=4
