New research advances in ethnopsychopharmacology: an Asian perspective

Asians represent more than half the world’s population but themselves consist of very diverse genetic, ethnic, cultural and linguistic groups. Understanding the role of ethnicity in an individual’s response to psychotropic medications is of importance in treating psychiatric disorders among Asians. Recent research has supported the notion that Asians carry distinct genetic profiles that can influence both the pharmacokinetics and the pharmacodynamics of a given medication (Lin & Smith, 2000; Pi & Simpson, 2005). In this brief review, we summarise the research findings in the field, focusing on pharmacogenetic variations between Asians and other ethnic groups.