Can Epigenetics Predict Drug Efficiency in Mental Disorders?

Abstract

Psychiatric disorders affect millions of individuals and their families worldwide, and the costs to society are substantial and are expected to rise due to a lack of effective treatments. Personalized medicine—customized treatment tailored to the individual—offers a solution. Although most mental diseases are influenced by genetic and environmental factors, finding genetic biomarkers that predict treatment efficacy has been challenging. This review highlights the potential of epigenetics as a tool for predicting treatment efficacy and personalizing medicine for psychiatric disorders. We examine previous studies that have attempted to predict treatment efficacy through epigenetics, provide an experimental model, and note the potential challenges at each stage. While the field is still in its infancy, epigenetics holds promise as a predictive tool by examining individual patients’ epigenetic profiles in conjunction with other indicators. However, further research is needed, including additional studies, replication, validation, and application beyond clinical settings.

Keywords

• psychiatric disorders
• personalized medicine
• epigenetics