French researchers and doctors have recently developed a blood test to distinguish patients with bipolar disorder from those suffering from depression.
- Bipolar disorder is ranked 6th in the world as a disability by the World Health Organization (WHO).
- It generally takes ten years between the first episode of bipolar disorder and the establishment of appropriate care.
Bipolar disorder is a psychiatric illness characterized by recurrent mood disorders. Mood varies according to two phases occurring alternately: manic or hypomanic episodes, and depressive episodes with intervals of remission.
Late diagnosis of bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorders usually appear between the ages of 15 and 25 and persist throughout life. However, patients are often penalized by late diagnosis. In addition, the symptoms of this psychiatric illness are often confused with those of depression, as explained by THE FOUNDATIONAL FOUNDATION. “The time elapsed between a first episode and the initiation of appropriate treatment is estimated at 10 years on average.. This discrepancy is explained by the ignorance of the disease on the part of doctors, who often associate the symptoms of bipolarity with those of depression. So that currently, 40% of depressives could actually suffer from bipolarity without being diagnosed”explains the organization.
In a study published in 2021, Professor Raoul Belzeaux, psychiatrist at the Montpellier University Hospital, as well as researchers and doctors from the FondaMental Foundation have developed a blood screening to differentiate between these two psychiatric diseases. The main objective of this research was to identify blood biomarkers that can differentiate between patients with depression and people affected by bipolar disorder when they suffer from a depressive episode.
A blood test to differentiate between bipolarity and depressive disorder
During the study, the researchers observed clinical data and blood samples from two cohorts including volunteers with a depressive episode in the case of bipolar disorder and participants suffering from depression. According to their results, the detection and measurement of cytokines in the blood, an inflammatory biomarker, had made it possible to differentiate a patient suffering from bipolar disorder from a patient affected by a depressive disorder. However, the blood test cannot be realized only following a diagnosis of depression made by a doctor.
A clinical trial is now necessary to verify the effectiveness of blood screening, but in the event of positive results, this test could, in the future, be included on the list of authorized examinations and reimbursed by Health Insurance.