A study led by University of New york at Chapel Hill researchers represents an important step forward in the accurate proper diagnosis of those who are experiencing and enjoying the earliest stages of psychosis.
Psychosis includes hallucinations or delusions that define the development of severe mental disorders such as schizophrenia. Schizophrenia emerges at the end of adolescence and early adulthood and affects about One in every 100 people. In severe cases, the outcome on a teenager could be a life compromised, and also the burden on members of the family could be almost as severe.
The study published in the journal Schizophrenia Bulletin reports preliminary results showing that a blood test, when used in psychiatric patients experiencing symptoms which are regarded as indicators of the high-risk for psychosis, identifies those who later went on to build up psychosis.
“The blood test included an array of 15 measures of immune and hormonal system imbalances as well as evidence of oxidative stress,” said Diana O. Perkins, MD, MPH, professor of psychiatry in the UNC School of Medicine and corresponding author from the study. She is also medical director of UNC’s Outreach and Support Intervention Services (OASIS) program for schizophrenia.
“While further scientific studies are required before this blood test could be clinically available, these results provide evidence regarding the fundamental nature of schizophrenia, and point towards novel pathways that could be targets for preventative interventions,” Perkins said.
Clark D. Jeffries, PhD, bioinformatics scientist in the UNC-based Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI), is really a co-author from the study, that was conducted included in the North American Prodrome Longitudinal Study (NAPLS), an international effort to know risk factors and mechanisms for development of psychotic disorders.
“Modern, computer-based methods can readily discover seemingly clear patterns from nonsensical data,” said Jeffries. “Added to that, scientific is a result of studies of complex disorders like schizophrenia can be confounded by many people hidden dependencies. Thus, stringent tests are necessary to develop a useful classifier. We did that.”
The research concludes that the multiplex blood assay, if independently replicated and if integrated with studies of other classes of biomarkers, can be of high value in the clinical setting.
