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Brain-derived neurotrophic factor gene polymorphisms and mirtazapine responses in Koreans with major depression

¹ Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea; Pharmacogenomic Research Center for Psychotropic Drugs, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
² Department of Psychiatry and Center for Pharmacogenomics and Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, USA
³ Department of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
⁴ Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
⁵ Department of Neuropsychiatry, Hallym University, Han-Gang Sacred Heart Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed.

	Abstract

Abstract

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a candidate molecule for influencing the clinical response to antidepressant treatment. The aims of this study were to determine the relationship between the Val66Met polymorphism in the BDNF gene and the response to mirtazapine in 243 Korean subjects with major depressive disorder (MDD). The reduction in the Hamilton Depression score over the 8-week treatment period was not influenced by BDNF V66M genotypes. A marginal effect of genotype on somatic anxiety score was observed at baseline (P = 0.047 in the dominant model). However, genotype–time interaction had no effect on somatic anxiety score after the 8-week a treatment period. Plasma BDNF levels tended to increase during mirtazapine treatment, although without statistical significance (P = 0.055). After 8 weeks of mirtazapine treatment, plasma BDNF levels were higher in Met allele homozygotes (1499.7 ± 370.6 ng/mL) than in Val allele carriers (649.7 ± 158.5 ng/mL, P = 0.049). Our results do not support the hypothesis that the Val66Met promoter polymorphism in the BDNF gene influences the therapeutic response to mirtazapine in Korean MDD patients. However, our data indicate that this polymorphism results in increased plasma BDNF after mirtazapine treatment.

Key Words: brain-derived neurotrophic factor, gene polymorphisms, major depression, mirtazapine, treatment response

First published on June 3, 2009
Journal of Psychopharmacology 2009, doi:10.1177/0269881109105457


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