A study on pharmacogenetics of haloperidol treatment

Haloperidol is highly efficient in the treatment of acute psychosis, especially when severe symptoms predominate. One major drawback is the occurrence of extrapyramidal side effects which can limit therapy and compliance. Thus, the availability of a predictive tool for the occurrence of extrapyramidal side effects is desirable. The aim of this study was to evaluate the predictive value of genetic polymorphisms with regard to haloperidol-induced extrapyramidal side effects. We studied one hundred four patients with acute psychosis (schizophrenia, schizoaffective, brief psychotic, and substance-induced psychotic disorder) which were treated with haloperidol for up to 28 days. Complementary, microaray-based experiments were used to search for novel candidate genes in animals treated with haloperidol. These gene expression experiments revealed that several genes were differentially expressed following haloperidol treatment. SNPs subsequently tested in the patients were found to be associated with Akathisia and Parkinsonism.