Correlation Between Cutaneous Adverse Reactions Caused by Aromatic Antiepileptic Drugs and Human Leukocyte Antigen Gene Polymorphism / 医药导报

Aromatic antiepileptic drugs such as carbamazepine are the first-line treatment for epilepsy. The adverse reactions have greatly limited their clinical application. The occurrence rate of severe skin adverse reactions such as Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) is low,but they are often fatal.Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) gene polymorphisms are reported to be related with skin adverse reactions caused by aromatic antiepileptic drugs,but the exact mechanism is unclear.This article will perform a review about the correlation between skin adverse reactions caused by aromatic antiepileptic drugs and HLA gene polymorphisms published in recent years,in order to provide theoretical basis for further study of HLA susceptibility genes in Chinese Han population,and provide a reference for achieving individualized treatment of epilepsy.

Alterations of Amino Acid Level in Depressed Rat Brain

Amino-acid neurotransmitter system dysfunction plays a major role in the pathophysiology of depression. Several studies have demonstrated the potential of amino acids as a source of neuro-specific biomarkers could be used in future diagnosis of depression. Only partial amino acids such as glycine and asparagine were determined from certain parts of rats' brain included hippocampi and cerebral cortex in previous studies. However, according to systematic biology, amino acids in different area of brain are interacted and interrelated. Hence, the determination of 34 amino acids through entire rats' brain was conducted in this study in order to demonstrate more possibilities for biomarkers of depression by discovering other potential amino acids in more areas of rats' brain. As a result, 4 amino acids (L-aspartic acid, L-glutamine, taurine and gamma-amino-n-butyric acid) among 34 were typically identified as potentially primary biomarkers of depression by data statistics. Meanwhile, an antidepressant called Fluoxetine was employed to verify other potential amino acids which were not identified by data statistics. Eventually, we found L-alpha-amino-adipic acid could also become a new potentially secondary biomarker of depression after drug validation. In conclusion, we suggested that L-aspartic acid, L-glutamine, taurine, gamma-amino-n-butyric acid and L-alpha-amino-adipic acid might become potential biomarkers for future diagnosis of depression and development of antidepressant.