IU School of Medicine researchers develop blood test for anxiety
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- 08 Mar 2023
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New test is the latest in a series of blood tests for mental health disorders
Researchers from Indiana University School of Medicine have successfully developed a blood test for anxiety. The test examines biomarkers that can help them objectively determine someone’s risk for developing anxiety, the severity of their current anxiety and which therapies would likely treat their anxiety the best.
The researchers’ results were recently published in Molecular Psychiatry, and the blood tests are currently being developed for wider use by physicians by Indianapolis-based startup MindX Sciences, which was founded on science developed at IU School of Medicine.
“Many people are suffering from anxiety, which can be very disabling and interfere with daily life,” said professor of psychiatry Alexander Niculescu, MD, PhD. “The current approach is to talk to people about how they feel to see if they could be on medications, but some medications can be addictive and create more problems. We wanted to see if our approach to identify blood biomarkers could help us match people to existing medications that will work better and could be a non-addictive choice.”
Niculescu’s past research has led to the development of blood tests for pain, depression/bipolar disorder and post traumatic stress disorder. This latest study uses similar methods for anxiety. It included three independent cohorts: discovery, validation and testing. Participants completed a blood test every three to six months or whenever a new psychiatric hospitalization occurred. By examining the RNA biomarkers in their blood, researchers could identify a participant’s current state of anxiety and match them with medications and nutraceuticals, showing how effective different options could be for them based on their biology. Read More…
