London-based group develops blood test for depression

Researchers at King’s College London have created a blood test that can correctly anticipate if depressed patients will respond to typical antidepressants, according to a new study.

With this test, patients with inflammation markers in their blood above a particular threshold might be guided towards earlier usage of more assertive antidepressant strategies, like a mix of antidepressants before their condition worsens, the study team said.

Around 50 percent all depressed patients do not react to first-line antidepressants and a third of patients are immune to all pharmacological remedies. Consequently, patients are given a trial-and-error approach where one antidepressant is tried after a different one fails, often for 12 or more weeks for every kind of antidepressant. This can lead to long stretches of ineffective antidepressant medical care for individuals who may not show an improvement in symptoms anyway.

Finding biomarkers for depression

Published in The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, the study looked at two biomarkers that gauge blood inflammation, as previous scientific studies have already revealed that high inflammation levels are linked with poor antidepressant effectiveness.

They assessed the amount of two biomarkers, Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor (MIF) and interleukin (IL)-1ß, in two separate clinical groups of depressed patients before or after they took a variety of common antidepressants.

The scientists discovered that blood test outcomes above a particular threshold level could accurately and dependably predict the prospect of individuals responding to the treatments. Patients with amounts of MIF and IL-1ß above the thresholds exhibited a 100 percent chance of not succeeding with common antidepressants. Volunteers with inflammation below the indicated threshold might be projected to respond to first-line antidepressants, the study authors said.

The two biomarkers analyzed in the study are both thought to be essential in predicting how individuals with depression react to antidepressants, as they are included in functions strongly related to depression. These include the creation of new brain cells and connections between them, in addition to the death of brain cells through oxidative stress.

“The identification of biomarkers that predict treatment response is crucial in reducing the social and economic burden of depression, and improving quality of life of patients,” study author Carmine Pariante from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College London, said in a press release. “This study provides a clinically-suitable approach for personalizing antidepressant therapy — patients who have blood inflammation above a certain threshold could be directed toward earlier access to more assertive antidepressant strategies, including the addition of other antidepressants or anti-inflammatory drugs.”

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