Possible influence of CREB1, CREBBP and CREM variants on diagnosis and treatment outcome in patients with schizophrenia

► CREB1, CREBBP and CREM are interesting candidate gene for schizophrenia. ► 221 patients suffering from SKZ and 170 healthy controls were genotyped for 10 SNPs. ► These SNPs may influence diagnosis and treatment outcomes in SKZ's patients. The present study explores whether some single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within CREB1 (rs2709377 and rs6740584), CREBBP (rs2239317, rs2239316, rs3025702, rs130021, rs130005, rs129974 and rs9392) and CREM (rs1148247, rs4934735, rs12775799, rs6481941 and rs16935888) could be associated with schizophrenia (SKZ) and whether they could predict clinical outcomes in Korean in-patients treated with antipsychotics. Two-hundred twenty one in-patients suffering from SKZ and 170 psychiatrically healthy controls were genotyped for 10 SNPs within CREB1, CREBBP and CREM. All patients were assessed for the severity of illness at baseline and at discharge by means of the Positive and Negative Symptoms Scale (PANSS). Our findings suggest the lack of influence of SNPs under investigation in the present study on the susceptibility to SKZ and on the response to antipsychotics. However, taking into account the several limitations of our study, further research is needed to draw more definitive conclusions.