Depressed patients are often treated with a trial-and-error approach to find the best drug for each patient. The results show that half of the time the first type of depression treatment administered would be ineffective. Scientists in the U.K. have developed a new blood test to help doctors point out the best drug for patients with depression.
The blood test can predict whether patients suffering from depression will respond to common antidepressants. This discovery could bring in error-free promises of customized depression treatment for people with the draining mental condition and the earliest signs of it.
Guided by this test, researchers say medical practitioners would be able to direct patients to a certain level of inflammation in their blood towards earlier treatment with a more effective course of antidepressants, possibly including combining two medications, before they get worse, as per The Nation.
Techie News reports that the study was conducted to a small number of 140 volunteers who are suffering from depression, tried out their blood test. They pointed that those who were tested positive for inflammation will be given a more aggressive therapy from the outset of the depression treatment. The new study on depression treatment still needs a larger trial to check how accurate the new blood test will work in the real world.
Lead researcher Professor Carmine Pariante said in BBC News that this knowledge could help modify depression treatment that will work for the individual although the test needs more work and development to make sure it would be reliable enough to use regularly. He added: "We would not want to go in prescribing too much medicine if it's not necessary."
The team is hoping to escalate people sooner rather than later if they need it. Patients are firmly cautioned not to alter their medication on their own or take any anti-inflammatory without the knowledge of their doctor.
Antidepressants may be safe, but they have side effects as well. When it comes to depression treatment one shouldn't rely on drugs too much. Various studies have shown that medication is not the only option to manage depression.
