Serum N-Desmethylcitalopram Concentrations are Associated with the Clinical Response to Citalopram of Patients with Major Depression.

Objective: Citalopram (CITA) is a widely used and well-tolerated selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. The aim of the study was to evaluate the possible influences of serum concentrations of CITA and its major metabolite n-desmethylcitalopram (NDCITA) on the efficacy and tolerability of CITA in patients with major depressive disorder.

Methods: The study included 46 outpatients with major depressive disorder who received CITA.

Influence of ABCB1 polymorphisms and serum concentrations on venlafaxine response in patients with major depressive disorder.

Background: The pharmacokinetics and the pharmacodynamics of antidepressants show large inter-individual variations which result in unpredictable clinical responses.

Aim: The aim of the study was to examine the effect of ABCB1 polymorphisms and the serum concentrations on the efficacy and tolerability of venlafaxine in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD).

Methods: Fifty-two outpatients who met the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) criteria for MDD were recruited for the study.

ABCB1 C3435T polymorphism is associated with susceptibility to major depression, but not with a clinical response to citalopram in a Turkish population.

Background: The ATP-binding cassette sub-family B member 1 (ABCB1) gene, which encodes the p-glycoprotein at the blood-brain barrier, is investigated for patients' susceptibility to major depressive disorder (MDD) and their therapeutic response to antidepressants. However, there is an inconsistency between the studies of different ethnic groups. The current study aimed to determine the potential correlations of the ABCB1 gene C3435T polymorphism with the susceptibility to MDD and the therapeutic response to citalopram in a Turkish population.

Lack of a time-dependent effect of melatonin on radiation-induced apoptosis in cultured rat lymphocytes.

Ionizing radiation is widely used for the treatment of solid tumors and it is thought to act by directly targeting tumor clonogens, also known as stem cells. Apoptosis is a genetically programmed mechanism of cell death often characterized by internucleosomal DNA cleavage. Although it has been previously shown that lymphocytes readily undergo apoptosis in patients receiving anticancer drugs or treatment with ionizing radiation, this is the first study to investigate the influence of radiotherapy and melatonin on apoptosis in rat lymphocytes at two different times of the day.