Northerner
Admin (Retired)
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
UK scientists have developed a blood test to help doctors pick the best drug for patients with depression.
Medics currently have to rely on trial and error, meaning around half of the time the first type of antidepressant given fails to work.
The researchers from King's College London say checking a patient's blood could help identify accurate treatment.
Those who test positive for inflammation need more aggressive therapy from the outset, they say.
So far the researchers have tried out their blood test on a small number of volunteers - 140 people with depression.
They say they will need to do a large trial to check how well it might work in the real world.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-36459679
Medics currently have to rely on trial and error, meaning around half of the time the first type of antidepressant given fails to work.
The researchers from King's College London say checking a patient's blood could help identify accurate treatment.
Those who test positive for inflammation need more aggressive therapy from the outset, they say.
So far the researchers have tried out their blood test on a small number of volunteers - 140 people with depression.
They say they will need to do a large trial to check how well it might work in the real world.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-36459679
