New research has better understand the causes of mental illness and the identification of new treatments. According to this study, mental disorders would be linked to biological markers detected in blood tests.
People often separate mental health from physical health. However, many biochemicals implicated in certain diseases have a direct impact on the functioning of our brain.
The researchers focused on substances called biomarkers because they are easily measured. A biomarker can detect a disease or a particular process. Biomarkers found in routine blood tests are useful because they are frequently affected by external factors.
A link between blood biomarkers and mental illness?
Researchers looked at genetic influences on mental illness and the substances measured in the blood. According to geneticists, mental illnesses and blood biomarkers are « traits complexes »that is, many genes and environmental factors are involved.
Using genetic data, the researchers were able to study how many small changes in the DNA sequence (or « variants ») are linked to the risk of mental illness. These variants can then be linked to measured levels of a biomarker in the blood. The most of these variants are individually associated with very small variations of an element such as the risk of mental illness, but they can add up to cause more serious effects.
In a recent study, researchers used genetics to analyze the relationship between 9 mental disorders and 50 factors measured in routine blood tests. The study confirmed the presence of genetic correlation between blood biomarkers and mental illnessmore widespread than previously demonstrated.
Biomarkers implicated in the causes of mental illness?
The effect of the variants on mental illness risk and levels of a given biomarker were similar to each other. For example, the study revealed a positive genetic correlation between white blood cell count and depression. This means that a process in the body influences both depression and white blood cells. Identifying this common process would help to better understand the causes of depression and, subsequently, find a treatment.
To find out if blood biomarkers are involved in the causes of mental illness, the researchers used variants of theADN related to changes in blood biomarkers. The experiment has made it possible to prove that certain substances measured in the blood might be involved in the cause of certain mental illnesses.
However, further work would be needed to know more precisely how biomarkers are involved in these disorders.
SOURCE : SCIENCEALERT
