DIAGNOSING depression may get a little easier, thanks to the first blood test that can identify depression in teenagers.
Depression is hard to diagnose in teens due to healthy hormonal changes. To change that, at Northwestern University in Illinois and colleagues first worked out which genes are involved in the condition by comparing gene expression in rats with depression to that in normal rats.
They then analysed the expression of 52 of these genes in blood samples from 28 teenagers, half of whom had depression. Abnormal levels of expression for 11 of the genes were found to be associated with the condition (Translational Psychiatry, ).
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