Skip to main content

Blood Test to Predict Schizophrenia Shows Promise

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Feb 13, 2024.

By Carole Tanzer Miller HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, Feb. 13, 2024 — Researchers say they have developed a blood test for schizophrenia.

More than 3 million people in the United States have schizophrenia, a disorder marked by hallucinations and delusions, or a related psychotic illness.

The new test, which is expected to be available later this year from MindX Sciences, identifies markers in the blood that objectively measure a person's risk for schizophrenia, allowing doctors to tailor treatments to their individual biology.

"Schizophrenia is hard to diagnose, especially early on, and matching people to the right treatment from the beginning is very important," said senior study author Dr. Alexander Niculescu, a professor of psychiatry and medical neuroscience at Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis.

"Psychosis usually manifests in young adulthood -- a prime period of life," he explained in a university news release. "Stress and drugs, including marijuana, are precipitating factors on a background of genetic vulnerability. If left unchecked, psychosis leads to accumulating biological damage, social damage and psychological damage."

His team published its research Feb. 8 in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.

For their study, they followed psychiatric patients for more than a decade, identifying biomarkers that predicted high rates of hallucination and delusions, as well as future related hospitalizations. They also examined which biomarkers were targets of existing drugs.

The work builds on previous studies by Niculescu, who is also a staff psychiatrist at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Indianapolis, and his colleagues over the past two decades.

They have examined blood biomarkers for other psychiatric issues, including anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), memory disorders and suicide risk.

In general, Niculescu said, the best biomarkers were better predictors than standard scales used to evaluate someone who has hallucinations or delusions.

"Fortunately, biologically some of the existing medications work quite well if initiated early in the right patients," he said. "Social support is also paramount, and once that and medications are in place, psychological support and therapy can help as well."

While Niculescu said there is still much to learn, there is reason for optimism in this era of emerging precision psychiatry.

Funding for the study was provided by the National Institutes of Health and the VA.

Sources

  • Indiana University School of Medicine, news release, Feb. 8, 2024

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Posted February 2024

Read this next

Reading Beyond Headline Rare For Most on Social Media, Study Finds

FRIDAY, Nov. 22, 2024 -- Three out of four times, your Facebook friends don't read past the headline when they share a link to political content.  Experts say that's...

'10 Americas:' Health Disparities Mean Life Expectancy Varies Across U.S.

FRIDAY, Nov. 22, 2024 -- How long Americans can expect to live varies dramatically -- and the gap continues to widen. A new report says health inequalities have, in essence...

1 in 4 Americans Now Struggling to Cover Medical Costs

THURSDAY, Nov. 21, 2024 -- U.S. health care costs are among the world's highest, and 1 in 4 adults with health coverage struggle with high out-of-pocket costs, a new survey...

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.