Replies to post #139092 on Biotech Values

[DewDiligence]

A blood test for depression?

http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2012/04/29/depression-blood-tests-need-more-work-scientists-caution/kOLZyHhNkdC4nNMYgWz9KK/story.html

A test for mental illness that would be less subjective than a patient interview or an interpretation of a cluster of symptoms has long been a goal.

… Ridge Diagnostics, a San Diego company that funded Papakostas’s study, has begun selling its $745 depression blood tests in North Carolina and Southern California. Papakostas has received an honorarium and serves as a consultant to Ridge Diagnostics.

… Dr. Ronald Pies, clinical professor of psychiatry at Tufts University School of Medicine, said that for a variety of reasons, there is a skepticism among psychiatrists about the idea of using biomarkers to diagnose mental illnesses.

[DewDiligence]

This could be a huge development if it works out:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/19/us-depression-drugs-biomarkers-idUSBRE88I0RL20120919

British scientists have identified biological markers in the blood which should help doctors match patients to the best type of treatment for depression.

The aim is to end the "trial and error" prescription of antidepressants, which is often the only way depressed patients can find the most effective treatment, said researchers regarding what they described as a small but promising study.

…high levels of inflammation - which show up in biological markers in the blood - are part of the mechanism leading to depression, especially to particular forms of the condition that do not respond well to mild or low-dose antidepressants.

…After 8 weeks of treatment, the researchers found that patients who were not getting any better were ones who had significantly higher levels of three inflammation markers before treatment started.