Researchers have developed a blood test that could one day help diagnose teens with depression.
Currently, a depression diagnosis in teens relies on their descriptions of symptoms and their physician’s subjective observations. But now a new study suggests there may be a surer, more objective way: a blood test that identifies major depression by looking for a specific set of genetic markers in the blood. The breakthrough could lead to earlier diagnoses that may not only allow for better individualized treatment but also help to lessen the stigma associated with mental illness.
To create the test, researchers identified 26 potential biological markers for depression. Then they tested the markers in a small group of teens and found that a handful of them could distinguish the teens with major depression from those without depression.
The research was published April 17 in the journal Translational Psychiatry.
It's not clear how much the test might cost, and it needs more stringent validation before it will be ready to be used in medical offices. Still, "it appears that these results are promising, after decades of research into finding a biological test for depression," said study author Dr. George Papakostas, an associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.
No comments:
Post a Comment