It's possible to determine if an adult is suffering from depression by testing his blood sample, claims research conducted by Northwestern University scientists.

In a study published just this month in the journal Translational Psychiatry, scientists from NU's Feinberg School of Medicine found out that levels of nine RNA blood markers from 32 depressed patients aged 21 to 79 were different from RNA blood markers from 32 non-depressed patients also aged 21-79.

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In addition, three among the nine blood RNA markers were specifically different from depressed patients and non-depressed patients.

The controls (patients) underwent an 18-week therapy session, both through phone and face-to-face interaction. Their blood samples were tested for changes or positive responses from the depressed controls.

Patients that recovered from depression were also included in the tests, but results still showed variations in the concentration levels of the three blood RNA markers found in the controls' blood samples.

One of the study's lead authors, David Mohr, said being aware of people who are more susceptible to recurring depression allows doctors to monitor them more closely. This monitoring will also tell doctors if they can consider a maintenance dose of antidepressants or continued psychotherapy to diminish the severity of a future episode or prolong the intervals between episodes.

Traditionally, depression is diagnosed through clinical examination and patients reports about their symptoms. Doctors interpret and conclude if patients are indeed depressed.

If proven to be effective, blood testing could be used as an impartial and scientific diagnosis for depression.

Researchers from NU want to pursue the study by performing tests in a larger number of controls to further determine if blood testing can also determine major and bipolar depression. Two years ago, diagnosis through blood tests was also introduced to identify adolescents that suffer from depression.

TagsBlood test, depression, depression diagnosis