(Reuters)
Updated: 2007-08-01 18:43

CHICAGO - Scientists have found a second gene that helps predict whether people with depression will respond to a commonly prescribed antidepressant, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.

On its own, the gene variation plays only a small role in predicting a patient's response to Forest Laboratories Inc.'s Celexa, known generically as citalopram.

But when a patient also had a variation of another gene, they were 23 percent more likely to benefit, according to the study which appears in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

The finding may one day give doctors a better shot at choosing the right antidepressant for the right patient, helping to eliminate the trial-and-error process many people undergo before they find an effective treatment.

"This is definitely a step ahead," said Dr. Gonzalo Laje, a researcher at the National Institute of Mental Health, in a telephone interview.

He said depression will be the second-leading cause of disability by the year 2020.

"It's huge. It costs the U.S. over $43 billion every year in terms of direct and indirect medical costs."

"If we can identify markers that would predict who gets better with which treatment, we can maybe decrease this burden and make the disease easier to treat," Laje said.

He said researchers will need to identify more markers before the research will be of use, but it helps scientists better understand the disease and gives a clearer picture of who might benefit.

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