A clinical study protocol to identify serum biomarkers predictive of response to antipsychotics in schizophrenia patients

Abstract

An increasing number of studies are now exploring the potential of using blood-based biomarkers for prediction of antipsychotic treatment response in studies of schizophrenia patients. Here we describe the detailed setup of a clinical study to identify biomarker candidates for prediction of response of patients prior to receiving antipsychotics over a 6-week treatment period. The main emphasis is on study design, patient recruitment, sampling and outcome measures.