Genetics of Common clozapine-induced side effects (GenClo)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Genetics of Common clozapine-induced side effects
IRAS ID
251534
Contact name
Emilio Fernandez-Egea
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
18/NW/0581, 18/NW/0581
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 11 months, 6 days
Research summary
Clozapine is the only medication we can use for people suffering with schizophrenia who are not responding to any other medication. Half of the times, it is effective. However, it is also associated with a list of side effects. These include weight gain, diabetes, checking behaviour, sedation and a few others. We have been studying these symptoms for a number of years, but we could not find markers to predict who will develop these side effects. This is important because if we can identify who will develop the side effects, we can intervene earlier to prevent it.
One option is that people have genetic predisposition to such side effects. Some researchers elsewhere have found that particular forms of some genes are involved in such side effects. We would like to see if this is happening in our patients too.
So, we aim to use the blood we are taking during the regular blood monitoring to check if certain genes are associated with these side effects. The information about the side effects is already collected in the notes, so we don’t need to ask more questions again. We have devised a way to make sure that this particularly confidential information about the genes is kept only for research proposes and will not be passed into the NHS electronic records, unless volunteers are willing to.
We also ask for using the information for future and previous research. With the new information, we can understand better our previous studies and we can also design better studies for the future. Again, we have devised a way to keep information confidential. However, it is important to note that the study only focuses on clozapine side effects and schizophrenia symptoms (lack of motivation, delusions, etc…). We are not studying any other genetic characteristics.
REC name
North West - Haydock Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/NW/0581
Date of REC Opinion
7 Aug 2018
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion