Blood test for depression?
The initial assessment of a blood test to help diagnose major depressive disorder indicates it may become a useful clinical tool. In a paper published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, a team including Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers reports that a test analyzing levels of nine biomarkers accurately distinguished patients diagnosed with depression from control participants without significant false-positive results. “Traditionally, diagnosis of major depression and other mental disorders has been made based on patients’ reported symptoms, but the accuracy of that process varies a great deal, often depending on the experience and resources of the clinician conducting the assessment,” says George Papakostas of the MGH Department of Psychiatry and an associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, lead and corresponding author of the report. “Adding an objective biological test could improve diagnostic accuracy and may also help us track individual patients’ response to treatment.” The study authors note that previous...