A simple blood test may soon be able to detect whether a person is suffering from depression, a new study finds.
Researchers at the MedUni Vienna have found that a blood test can help detect depression in a person.
"This is the first study that has been able to predict the activity of a major depression network in the brain using a blood test," lead author Lukas Pezawas said in a statement. "While blood tests for mental illnesses have until recently been regarded as impossible, this study clearly shows that a blood test is possible in principle for diagnosing depression and could become reality in the not too distant future."
Serotonin transporter (SERT) is a protein present in the cell membrane and helps in the transmission of the "happiness hormone", also known as serotonin into the cell. SERT in the brain is responsible for regulating neural depression networks. The lack of serotonin causes depression. This is why all major antidepressants tackle SERT to treat depressed patients.
SERT is also present in other organs in the body including the blood and intestines and works in the same way as it does in the brain. When present in the blood, the transporter ensures that blood platelets maintain the appropriate concentration of serotonin in the blood plasma.
Using functional magnetic resonance imaging of the brain, researchers examined the link between the speed at which blood platelets absorb serotonin and the function of a depression network in the brain, known as the "default mode network."
Previous studies have found that this network is consciously suppressed during complex thought processes, so that concentration levels are increased. However, people suffering from depression find it difficult to suppress this network, giving rise to negative thoughts and poor concentration.
The findings of this study suggest that the diagnosis of depression through blood tests may be a possibility in the near future.
The study was funded by Austrian Science Fund, the Institute for Study of Affective Neuroscience and the Austrian National Bank. Findings were published in PLOS ONE.
