Volume 7, Number 2

Predictors of SSRI Response: Efficacy and Adverse Effects

Akira Kugaya, MD, PhD

Ms. Lalovic is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Neurology & Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montréal, Canada.

Dr. Kugaya is Staff Physician, Department of Psychiatry, Kaiser Permanente, Lomita, California.

Abstract

An accurate method of predicting the response to antidepressant therapy could improve treatment planning as well as treatment response. Predicting the response to antidepressant therapy has been challenging, however. Previous studies proposed potential clinical and biological predictors. Recent studies have focused on the use of multiple treatment modalities, including psychotherapy, and factors obtained by genetic and brain imaging techniques as markers of therapeutic outcomes. A possible role for brain serotonin transporters (SERTs) in the prediction of treatment response is discussed in this article. These structures have been observed by using positron emission tomography. A recent controversy regarding the use of selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors in children and adolescents points to the potential importance of identifying biological markers of treatment outcome, such as SERTs. Also discussed are clinical and biological predictors of both treatment response and adverse events.