Quick Cheap Blood Test for Depression

Blood test can instantly diagnose depression

Backed by the medical research group Human Metabolome Technologies (HMT), researchers at Keio University have developed a test which measures the concentration of phosphoric acid in the blood as an indicator of depression.

In a previous study, HMT made the connection between phosphoric acid and depression and found that those patients with depression have lower concentrations of ethanolamine phosphate. Researchers are able to use the blood test to diagnose patients with depression and have an 82 percent success rate.

Researchers presented the new test at the Japanese Society of Biological Psychiatry in Tokyo. They hope to make the new test available to physicians within the next two years. This is not the first blood test created for the diagnosis of depression and there are many others under development. However, most of these other tests look at white blood cell DNA and are very time-consuming. HMT is currently developing a reagent that will be able to determine the level of ethanolamine phosphate in only minutes.

If this proves out, it would be a great advance in medicine.  Depression affects an estimated 9% of people, causing countless days of lost time, and just plain misery.  A quick, accurate test would make the decision to treat much quicker, and less stressful. IMHO, If a chemical test could detect the condition, more people would be willing to be tested, and treated.