RESUMO
Antipsychotic drugs are particularly interesting in pharmacogenetic studies as they are associated with a large interindividual variability in terms of response and side effects and, therefore, frequently need to be discontinued, requiring switches to other antipsychotics. Any information that allows the prediction of outcome to a given antipsychotic in a particular patient will, therefore, be of great help for the clinician to minimize time and find the right drug for the right patient, thus optimizing response and minimizing side effects. This will also have a substantial impact on compliance and doctor-patient relationships. Moreover, antipsychotic drug treatments are often required for life-long treatment and are also frequently prescribed to the more 'vulnerable' populations: children, adolescents and the elderly. This article focuses on some important studies performed with candidate gene variants associated with antipsychotic response. In addition, important findings in pharmacogenetic studies of antipsychotic-induced side effects will be briefly summarized, such as antipsychotic treatment induced tardive dyskinesia and weight gain.
RESUMO
Membrane potential and bi-ionic potential studies using cellulose acetate and Dowex-50 membranes and sodium chloride and potassium chloride aqueous solutions have been carried out. The results have been used to estimate solute permeability, ionic transport numbers, fixed charge density, and surface charge density of both the membranes. Both membrane potential and bi-ionic potential are affected by adsorption of ions. Adsorbed ions affect the surface potential as well as solute retention capacity of the membranes. Solute retention expressed in terms of the "maximal retention" of membranes could thus be estimated. Furthermore, a correlation between permselectivity of the membrane and effective concentration with the dielectric constant of the membrane has also been established. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.