Can a Simple Blood Test Predict Schizophrenia?
Could a simple blood test predict psychosis? According to a recent study, researchers believe a blood test could identify patients with an increased risk for developing schizophrenia and other mental disorders.
For the study, researchers used a blood test to measure inflammation, oxidative stress, hormones, and metabolism in 32 participants with symptoms suggesting high risk for psychosis.
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After 2 years of follow-up, researchers used an algorithm to identified markers that best distinguished participants that had manifested symptoms of psychosis (CHR-NP; n=40) from individuals who did not develop any symptoms.
They found that they were able to correctly identify which of the participants had gone on to develop symptoms through the presence of 15 specific markers in the participant’s blood.
Of the 32 participants, 14 developed schizophrenia, 13 had undetermined forms of psychosis, 2 participants displayed severe symptoms of depression with psychotic nuances, 1 exhibited delusional disorder, 1 had schizoaffective disorder, and 1 individual had bipolar disorder.
“While further research is required before this blood test could be clinically available, these results provide evidence regarding the fundamental nature of schizophrenia, and point towards novel pathways that could be targets for preventative interventions,” said Diana O. Perkins, MD, MPH, a lead author of the study and professor of psychiatry in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine.
The complete study is published in the August issue of Schizophrenia Bulletin.
-Michelle Canales
References:
Perkins DO, Jeffries CD, Addington J, et al. Towards a psychosis risk blood diagnostic for persons experiencing high-risk symptoms: preliminary results from the NAPLS project. Schizophr Bull. 2014 August [epub ahead of print] doi: 10.1093/schbul/sbu099.
UNC Health Care and UNC School of Medicine. Blood test may help determine who is at risk for psychosis. September 22, 2014 http://news.unchealthcare.org/news/2014/september/blood-test-may-help-determine-who-is-at-risk-for-psychosis. Accessed September 24, 2014.