Blood test could diagnose depression, treatment: study

0 Comments | AFP, March, 2008

CHICAGO (AFP) — A simple blood test may be enough to diagnose depression and quickly determine whether antidepressant drugs are working, researchers said Tuesday.

That's because scientists have identified a protein in the brain that can serve as a biomarker for depression, according to a study published in the Journal of Neuroscience.

"This test could serve to predict the efficacy of antidepressant therapy quickly, within four to five days, sparing patients the agony of waiting a month or more to find out if they are on the correct therapeutic regimen," said lead author Mark Rasenick of the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine.

Rasenick and his colleagues studied the brains of 16 clinically depressed people who committed suicide and compared...