Medical marijuana laws and marijuana use in the USA: Any lessons.

Hasin DS, Wall M, Keyes KM, Cerdá M, Schulenberg J, O’Malley PM, Galea S, Pacula R, Feng T. (Departments of Epidemiology, Psychiatry and Biostatistics, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York; New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY; Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI; RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, California; National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Research Foundation of Mental Hygiene, New York, NY, USA.) Medical marijuana laws and adolescent marijuana use in the USA from 1991 to 2014: Results from annual, repeated cross-sectional surveys. Lancet Psychiatry 2015;2:601–8.

Association of serotonin transporter (SLC6A4) & receptor (5HTR1A, 5HTR2A) polymorphisms with response to treatment with escitalopram in patients with major depressive disorder : A preliminary study.

Background & objectives: Genetic factors have potential of predicting response to antidepressants in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). In this study, an attempt was made to find an association between response to escitalopram in patients with MDD, and serotonin transporter (SLC6A4) and receptor (5HTR1A, 5HTR2A) polymorphisms. Methods: Fifty five patients diagnosed as suffering from MDD, were selected for the study. The patients were treated with escitalopram over a period of 6-8 wk. Severity of depression, response to treatment and side effects were assessed using standardised instruments. Genetic variations from HTR1A (rs6295), HTR2A (rs6311 and rs6313) and SLC6A4 (44 base-pair insertion/deletion at 5-HTTLPR) were genotyped. The genetic data of the responders and non-responders were compared to assess the role of genetic variants in therapeutic outcome. Results: Thirty six (65.5%) patients responded to treatment, and 19 (34.5%) had complete remission. No association was observed for genotype and allelic frequencies of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) among remitter/non-remitter and responder/non-responder groups, and six most common side-effects, except memory loss which was significantly associated with rs6311 (p=0.03). Interpretation & conclusions: No significant association was found between the SNPs analysed and response to escitalopram in patients with MDD though a significant association was seen between the side effect of memory loss and rs6311. Studies with larger sample are required to find out genetic basis of antidepressant response in Indian patients.