Changes in antidepressant metabolism in pregnancy evidenced by metabolic ratios in hair: a novel approach.

Background: Depression and other psychiatric illnesses are common during pregnancy and are often treated with antidepressants. Physiological changes of pregnancy may alter the pharmacokinetics of medications and ultimately affect the dose required to maintain effective therapy. Human hair offers a safe, non-invasive way to monitor long term systemic exposures to medications.

Hair as a novel noninvasive method to study the impact of pregnancy on CYP2D6 metabolizing capacity.

A novel method is described to investigate changes in the drug metabolizing capacity of CYP2D6 during pregnancy using hair analysis.