Replication study to confirm the role of CYP2D6 polymorphism rs1080985 on donepezil efficacy in Alzheimer's disease patients

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder often treated with donepezil, an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor. Response to donepezil is variable, probably based on patients' genetic background in donepezil metabolizing enzymes, including cytochrome 2D6 (CYP2D6). We evaluated the association between clinical response to donepezil and a common variant (rs1080985) of CYP2D6, previously reported to be associated with poor response to the drug. In a sample of 415 AD cases, we found evidence of association between rs1080985 and response to donepezil after 6 months of therapy (OR [95% CI]: 1.74 [1.01-3.00], p = 0.04). Rs1080985 might be useful as predictor of poor response to short-term donepezil treatment.