Diagnosing depression can be a difficult task, currently relying on patients reporting symptoms – something those suffering depression don’t always do – and doctors correctly interpreting them – which isn’t easy as the symptoms are non-specific. Now researchers have developed a blood test to diagnose depression in adults, providing the first objective, scientific diagnosis for the condition.
Earlier this year, a team from the University of Vienna revealed that measuring the levels of serotonin in the blood showed promise for potentially diagnosing depression through a blood test. And in 2012, Eva Redei, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine developed a blood test to diagnose depression in adolescents that involved looking at 26 genetic blood markers.
via Gizmag
