Some exciting news from the Indiana University School of Medicine.
But first, depressing news.
You know as well as I do how hard it can be to find the right antidepressant. How many Rx’s have you tried before finding the one (it’s almost romantic when it finally works, right?). Maybe you haven’t found the one, and are still playing the SSRI, SNRI, tricyclic, MAOI field. (Okay, enough of that analogy).
Point is — it sucks to have to try tons of different medicines, with side effects, before finding the right one.
Well, Indiana University School of Medicine researchers have developed a blood test, “composed of RNA biomarkers, that can distinguish how severe a patient’s depression is, their risk of severe depression in the future and their risk of future bipolar disorder, or manic-depressive illness.”
And crucially, “the test also informs tailored medication choices for patients.”
If you want to read more about the study, have at it here, but the point is that sometime soon, you might be able to take a simple blood test and find the antidepressant that works best for you.
In the field of psychiatry, that would be a game-changer. In the field of our 24/7, a life-saver.
I’ll leave you with this exciting passage from IU.
According to Niculescu, the work done by his team has opened the door for their findings to be translated into clinical practice, as well as help with new drug development. Focusing on collaboration with pharmaceutical companies and other doctors in a push to start applying some of their tools and discoveries in real-world scenarios, Niculescu said he believes the work being done by his team is vital in improving the quality of life for countless patients.
“Blood biomarkers offer real-world clinical practice advantages. The brain cannot be easily biopsied in live individuals, so we’ve worked hard over the years to identify blood biomarkers for neuropsychiatric disorders,” Niculescu said. “Given the fact that 1 in 4 people will have a clinical mood disorder episode in their lifetime, the need for and importance of efforts such as ours cannot be overstated.”
[Painting: The Birthday, Chagall]
