A new blood test could help doctors monitor those who are at risk of developing psychiatric disorders. The test looks for specific protein biomarkers in blood samples of those with risk factors for psychiatric illnesses and can help to predict who is most likely to develop psychosis in the future.
The study is published in the current edition of JAMA Psychiatry and was led by researchers from RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences. The researchers analysed blood samples taken from people at clinical high risk of psychosis. These individuals were followed up for several years to see who did and did not develop a psychotic disorder.
After assessing the proteins in blood samples and using machine learning to analyse this data, the scientists were able to find patterns of proteins in the early blood samples that could predict who did and did not develop a psychotic disorder at follow-up.
Read more at: https://neurosciencenews.com/psychotic-disorder-blood-test-16907/