Depression Blood Test

Trending News: There's Now A Blood Test For Depression

Why Is This Important

Because the diagnosis of depression and other psychological disorders has long been hit or miss.



Long Story Short

Researchers at Northwestern University have seemingly done the impossible: They’ve developed a blood test to measure major depression in adults by measuring nine RNA blood markers. Previous diagnoses have relied on (somewhat subjective) symptom matching and evaluation. The test also identifies those who will benefit most from cognitive behavioral therapy.



Long Story

Huge, potentially game-changing news out of Northwestern University: Researchers have identified nine RNA blood markers that can then be evaluated to determine whether or not a patient suffers from depression.

Based on the activity of those blood markers, they can also determine which patients would benefit most from cognitive behavioral therapy, and which might need to rely more on medication to help control symptoms. Truth is, there’s never been anything quite like this.

“This clearly indicates that you can have a blood-based laboratory test for depression, providing a scientific diagnosis in the same way someone is diagnosed with high blood pressure or high cholesterol,” said Eva Redei, who developed the test and is a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “This test brings mental health diagnosis into the 21st century and offers the first personalized medicine approach to people suffering from depression.”

Anyone who’s dealt with psychological disorders like depression or anxiety (or knows someone who has) understands the pain and frustration. When patients finally come to terms with the fact that they might have a problem and have the courage to seek help, even trained medical professionals can tend to be doubtful or dismissive (the notion of “just chilling out" and/or "just cheering up” is shockingly prevalent, even in these circles).

Once a doctor takes the case, a diagnosis can be murky — issues like anxiety and depression are often confused. Even after a diagnosis, the treatment can be akin to throwing spaghetti against the wall. Doctors make educated guesses as to which medications are appropriate, and change course until they find one that works.

This has the potential to change all of that.

“Mental health has been where medicine was 100 years ago when physicians diagnosed illnesses or disorders based on symptoms,” said co-lead author David Mohr, a professor of preventive medicine and director of the Center for Behavioral Intervention Technologies at Feinberg. “This study brings us much closer to having laboratory tests that can be used in diagnosis and treatment selection.”

What’s more, the same RNA markers actually demonstrate the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy — the changes are in fact biological and measurable. That’s important, because no one kind of treatment works for everyone. Some need drugs, some need therapy and others need both.

“Being aware of people who are more susceptible to recurring depression allows us to monitor them more closely,” Mohr noted. “They can consider a maintenance dose of antidepressants or continued psychotherapy to diminish the severity of a future episode or prolong the intervals between episodes.”



Own The Conversation

Ask The Big Question: Will this lead to an increase in depression diagnoses? Or, is this finally a way to separate the truly depressed from those who really do just need a better outlook on life?

Disrupt Your Feed: Finally, the medical community has no excuse for dismissing an actual, physical issue like depression.

Drop This Fact: In 2012, an estimated 16 million adults aged 18 or older in the U.S. had at least one major depressive episode in the past year. This represented 6.9% of all U.S. adults.