Maximizing Near-Term Clinical Opportunities for Psychiatric Genetics

Excerpt

Over the past two decades, genomics research has been enormously successful in identifying specific genes, pathways, and mechanisms that play a role in the development of psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders. The translation of these findings into the clinical setting has been slow but steady. Current clinical advances range from identifying genetic etiologies for neurodevelopmental disorders to pharmacogenomic dosing guidelines for psychiatric medications. Many more advances can be anticipated, given the paradigm-shifting knowledge produced by the field. Principally, genomics research has produced neurobiological hypotheses that are likely to yield therapeutic advances only in the long term. Nonetheless, opportunities to improve clinical care also exist in the near term. This chapter evaluates and prioritizes these opportunities in terms of their feasibility and potential impact. Barriers to the successful translation of these findings are identified and areas for research highlighted to support their translation into clinical settings.