Whilst finding the best treatments for depression can often be a process that involves a certain degree of “trial and error”, recent studies have indicated that specific biological markers in the blood can allow doctors to make a more informed decision on which antidepressants will work for patients in their care. According to Carmine Pariante at the King’s College Institute of Psychiatry:
“The study shows that we could use a blood-based test to personalise the treatment of depression”.
The studies have revealed that high-levels of inflammation within the body’s blood can be a pre-determinant of depression, especially for those who do not respond positively to low doses of antidepressants.
In recent years, the number of people experiencing depression has risen dramatically and the World Health Organisation (WHO) has made the alarming prediction that by 2020, depression will be as common as heart-disease as a form of chronic illness. Whilst there are many antidepressants available, the most common ones being Prozac and Seroxat – it is widely acknowledged that they generally only work for 50% of the patients they are prescribed to, and at this point, pharmaceutical developers are finding it challenging to design similar treatments within the category.
In the study, Pariante’s team have indentified 2 types of bio-markers: ones which can predict future responses to antidepressants, called predictors and ones which are targeted by antidepressants and can change over the course of the treatment – known as targets. During the study the respondents were treated with 2 types of antidepressants: Escitalopram and Notriptyline, and after 8 weeks, the researchers concluded that patients who had high-inflammation and marker-levels were not experiencing any significant improvements in their condition. This suggests that the bio-markers could be used as a means of doctors determining which treatments are effective for patients, before the drug is administered, helping to reduce the often, distressing, “trial and error” aspect of the process.
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