ABSTRACT
Clinical psychiatry can benefit greatly from recent advances in pharmacogenomic research. This methodology can be used to investigate genetic risk factors for the development, clinical course or symptomatic presentation of schizophrenia, and thus help provide a satisfactory biological explanation for the etiology of this condition. In addition, application of pharmacogenomic strategies to antipsychotic treatment will have obvious advantages including matching drug treatment to the genotype of the individual in order to optimize response and limit the risk of adverse reactions. This involves the identification of genetic variants associated with treatment response and with the development of side effects. Recent years have seen a series of reports associating genetic variability and clinical phenotypes.
