Familial Differential Treatment Response in Schizophrenia – Lessons From a Case of Three Affected Siblings

Introduction

We report the cases of three siblings (dizygotic twin sisters, one brother) with schizophrenia who showed an excellent response to the same antipsychotic drug, amisulpride, while other antipsychotic drugs were either ineffective or induced intolerable side effects. We discuss this case with respect to its implications for personalized treatment and stress the relevance of the antipsychotic drug history of affected relatives for choosing the most effective and suitable treatment option. We hypothesize that genetic proximity could contribute to a similar profile of response to currently used antipsychotic drugs.

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