Depression can be diagnosed by blood test, structural pattern of blood is the key

ByCanonsnapper

The diagnosis of depression was a subjective thing to determine disease name by the judgment of the doctor based on patient's self declaration so far. However, the structure pattern of blood proteins peculiar to depression patients discovered by the research group of Hiroshima University is used as an indicator, and it is believed that future diagnosis will be carried out objectively in the future.

Hiroshima University, Discovering Objective 'Indicators' of Depression + (1 / 2page) - MSN Sankei News

Current affairs dot com: Proprietary protein pattern for depressed patients = Application expected for diagnostic objective index - Hiroshima Univ.

Diagnosis of Depression with Blood Hiroshima University, Discovering Objective Indicators - 47 NEWS (Yoana News)

Discovery of indicators of depression Hiroshima University diagnosed by enzyme reaction in the world for the first time - China newspaper

Studies on antidepressants and anti-anxiety drugs used in therapy are under way and have relatively fewer side effects than conventional antidepressantsSelective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI)There are situations where it is widely used.

On the other hand, however, the diagnosis is quite considerable to the patient and the doctor's subjective opinion that the disease name is specified with reference to the criteria based on the check sheet asking whether or not the symptoms of the depressed mood and the desire to lower motivation have been entered by the patient It was epochal to introduce scientific and objective indicators here as it was done in a way that was close.

Many self checking check sheets are also published on the Internet, and the following is an example. Many are asking about symptoms of patients on average about 20 question items, such as appetite and presence of sexual desire, whether it is easy to get tired, whether feeling better in the evening, the degree of depressed mood, and so on.

Depression consultation room

Self check | Diagnose | Depression | Mental Navi

American scientific journal "PLoS ONEIn the electronic version, the content released by the group of Associate Professor Shinzo Mori of Hiroshima University Graduate School of Medicine and Dentistry General Studies is on the 31st.

PLoS ONE: DNA Methylation Profiles of the Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) Gene as a Potent Diagnostic Biomarker in Major Depression


Professor Yamawaki of Yamawaki of the research group focused on genes that make "brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)" which is a protein that is abundant in the brain. We collected and analyzed the blood of 20 depressed patients who were not treated with drugs and 18 healthy people.

So, looking at the chemical reaction called "methylation" occurring in genes, we found that a pattern unique to depressed patients was found. Excessive stress is thought to have caused abnormal methylation.

BDNF is a nutrient substance indispensable for the growth of nerve cells, and there have been research data showing that it has a deep relationship with depression in animal experiments and so on, but research on the concentration in blood of BDNF proves the relation It was not done. Professor Yamawaki and colleagues say "We will collect further data and investigate the relationship between administration of antidepressant drugs and changes in disease state and changes in degree of methylation and establish an objective diagnostic method for depression" .

Prof. Yamawabi on the right.


"Depressive state" where mental depression is severe is caused by many causes other than depression, including brain tumor, rheumatoid arthritis, thyroid disease, severePremenstrual syndrome (PMS)Diseases such as can also be the cause. Also caused by transient psychological stressPost traumatic stress disorderYaAdaptation disorderThere is also a point where it is difficult to distinguish between depression and depression in the conventional diagnostic method. If this indicator makes it possible to distinguish between depression and depression, it is expected that diseases other than depression will be treated in an appropriate manner.

If this method can be put into practical use, the cost is about 15,000 yen, which means that the diagnosis will be realized in 2 days.