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How a Simple Finger-prick Blood Test Helps Find the Best Medication for Depression
How a Simple Finger-prick Blood Test Helps Find the Best Medication For Depression
What if you could get a simple blood test to determine the best medicine for depression? Many patients struggle to find the right medications and waste both time and money on drugs that do not help. However, a new study reveals that a simple finger-prick blood test may offer the solution.
How a Blood Test Can Help
A study, published in the International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, focuses on the potential benefits of using a blood test to help find the right medication for depression. The blood test can reveal inflammation levels by measuring C-reactive protein (CRP). High levels of inflammation in the body can affect how drugs work.
A previous study, published in Nature Reviews Immunology, found that inflammation could lead to non-responsiveness to antidepressants. This means that a patient can follow the doctor’s orders and take drugs correctly without seeing any benefits or improvement.
The End of Trial and Error
Current depression treatments often involve a trial and error process. Doctors prescribe different drugs and hope that they will work, but there is no guarantee that they will be successful. Unfortunately, this process can discourage patients and make them give up on treatments completely.
Researchers hope that by using the simple finger-prick blood test to measure inflammation levels in the patients, they will be able to find the right medications faster. It can often take 12 weeks or longer to determine if a medication is improving depression, so the blood test should cut down on the wait times and simplify the process.
How to Use the Study Findings
The first step is to talk to your doctor if your current depression medication is not working. Your doctor may or may not be aware of the new study, so you have to stay informed. Researchers hope that more doctors will be willing to test their patients for inflammation in the future.
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10 comments
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Deborah D
November 20, 2017 at 10:01 am (UTC -8) Link to this comment
This is very informative.
Amber Ludwig
November 21, 2017 at 7:20 am (UTC -8) Link to this comment
Wow!! This is very interesting!! I bet this could really change the game in the medication and depression treatment world!
Colleen
November 21, 2017 at 12:30 pm (UTC -8) Link to this comment
I know Amber it would be such a blessing for those who have depression!!
Chum
November 23, 2017 at 7:27 pm (UTC -8) Link to this comment
oooh this is very interesting indeed!
nurselinda101
November 24, 2017 at 2:42 am (UTC -8) Link to this comment
I think this is awesome. Alot of my family members suffer with depression so this would really help. Thank you so much for sharing this
Colleen
November 25, 2017 at 9:59 am (UTC -8) Link to this comment
Your welcome! I hope it becomes part of a standard of practice!!
Lynn Desroche
November 28, 2017 at 10:53 pm (UTC -8) Link to this comment
This is fascinating!
Judy Thomas
December 1, 2017 at 9:48 pm (UTC -8) Link to this comment
I wish they were using this method in New Zealand. My daughter has anxiety and depression and it’s like the doctors are playing hit and miss with her meds. 4 teenagers in our town committed suicide in one week recently and the problem seems to be getting worse every day.
Colleen
December 5, 2017 at 7:02 am (UTC -8) Link to this comment
That is heartbreaking Judy! WE’ve gone through friends & family suicides…way too many for one family!!
Debbie P
March 24, 2018 at 6:25 pm (UTC -8) Link to this comment
If they could do this it would really be a medical miracle. And way better than being a human guiney pig when it come to meds.