Antidepressant Study Needs Mexican Volunteers

Antidepressant Study Needs Mexican Volunteers

Source: HealthScoutNews

People of Mexican origin are needed as volunteers for a depression study being conducted by scientists at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute.

The study will apply information from the Human Genome Project to understand which antidepressant medications work best for people of that ethnic group who suffer from major clinical depression.

The multi-center project will examine the DNA of each volunteer and examine how genetic differences affect antidepressant drug response.

The study plan is to enroll 140 people a year for five years. Volunteers must be between 18 and 70 years old, have at least three of four Mexican-born grandparents, pass a physical exam and meet criteria for major depression after having a psychiatric interview.

The UCLA researchers will not ask about volunteers’ insurance or citizenship status.

People with medical problems or other kinds of psychiatric problems such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder or alcohol/drug abuse are not eligible for this study.

Volunteers will be randomly assigned to one of two groups. They’ll receive 11 weeks of treatment with either Prozac or Norpramine. Both drugs are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treatment of depression.

For more information, call UCLA research coordinator Gabriela Marquez at 310-825-6677. You can also email her at GMarquez@mednet.ucla.edu or go to the Web site.

More information

Here’s where you can learn more about depression.

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