CTN-0027-A-1: START Pharmacogenetics: Exploratory Genetic Studies in Starting Treatment with Agonist Replacement Therapies

November 18, 2021 /

Wade Berretini, MD, PhD
Co-Lead Investigator
Professor, Department of Psychiatry
Translational Research Laboratory Building
wadeb@mail.med.upenn.edu

C. Lindsay DeVane, PharmD
Co-Lead Investigator
Professor and Vice Chair for Research
Clinical Neuroscience Division, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Medical University of South Carolina
devanel@musc.edu

Patients participating in START will be offered the opportunity to volunteer for a genetics study that has the primary objective of genotyping patients for exploratory analyses.  Genomic DNA from blood samples sent to the NIDA Genetics Repository will be extracted and saved for future study.  Investigators at the University of Pennsylvania will study the frequency of gene variants that have primarily been associated with addiction, while the Medical University of South Carolina researchers will examine the relationship between treatment drug plasma concentrations and gene variants associated with drug disposition and transport.

Primary Findings

Study findings suggest that rs581111 and rs52920 may be useful when considering treatment options for female opioid addicts; however, confirmation in an independent sample is warranted.

Results Article: Clark T, et al. Genetic variation in OPRD1 and the response to treatment for opioid dependence with buprenorphine in European-American females. Pharmacogenomics Journal 2013;14(3):303-308. [get article]