Leveraging pleiotropy for the improved treatment of psychiatric disorders
- Author(s)
- Woodward, DJ; Thorp, JG; Middeldorp, CM; Akóṣílè, W; Derks, EM; Gerring, ZF;
- Journal Title
- Molecular Psychiatry
- Publication Type
- Oct 10 epub ahead of print
- Abstract
- Over 90% of drug candidates fail in clinical trials, while it takes 10-15 years and one billion US dollars to develop a single successful drug. Drug development is more challenging for psychiatric disorders, where disease comorbidity and complex symptom profiles obscure the identification of causal mechanisms for therapeutic intervention. One promising approach for determining more suitable drug candidates in clinical trials is integrating human genetic data into the selection process. Genome-wide association studies have identified thousands of replicable risk loci for psychiatric disorders, and sophisticated statistical tools are increasingly effective at using these data to pinpoint likely causal genes. These studies have also uncovered shared or pleiotropic genetic risk factors underlying comorbid psychiatric disorders. In this article, we argue that leveraging pleiotropic effects will provide opportunities to discover novel drug targets and identify more effective treatments for psychiatric disorders by targeting a common mechanism rather than treating each disease separately.
- Publisher
- Springer Nature
- Research Division(s)
- Population Health And Immunity
- PubMed ID
- 39390223
- Publisher's Version
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-024-02771-7
- Open Access at Publisher's Site
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-024-02771-7- Terms of Use/Rights Notice
- Refer to copyright notice on published article.
Creation Date: 2024-10-25 10:15:36
Last Modified: 2024-10-25 10:15:53