Could a blood test help detect severe depression?

TUESDAY, July 31, 2018 (HealthDay News) – People with severe depression may have particularly low blood levels of an amino acid involved in brain function, a new study suggests.

The substance, called acetyl-L-carnitine (LAC), is naturally produced in the body. It facilitates metabolism, and animal research suggests that it prevents the "excessive triggering" of cells in certain parts of the brain.

LAC is also sold as a dietary supplement. It is marketed for conditions ranging from age-related memory loss to diabetic nerve damage.

A number of trials tested the supplement against depression, but with mixed results, said Dr. Natalie Rasgon, researcher

She and the research team came in under a different angle. They examined whether people with depression were, in fact, relatively deficient in LAC.

Thus, they measured blood levels of the amino acid in 28 patients with moderate depression and 43 in severe cases. Then they compared them with 45 adults who were demographically similar, but without depression.

Overall, researchers found that people with depression had lower LAC levels. And the levels were particularly low in people with severe depression. The same goes for people who have resisted treatment and those whose depression occurs early in life.

"We do not say that's the cause of their depression," says Rasgon, a professor of psychiatry at Stanford University. California School of Medicine. "We do not want people to rush to buy this supplement, thinking it's a panacea and the solution to their problem," Rasgon said.

in the blood might serve as a "marker" of a more severe and difficult-to-treat depression. If this happens to be the case, doctors could potentially use the ALC levels to diagnose depression

Dr. Brian Brennan is a psychiatrist. At McLean Hospital in Belmont, Mass., And Adjunct Professor at Harvard Medical School, he led a small trial that tested BAC to alleviate the symptoms of bipolar depression and concluded that this supplement was no better than placebo capsules. (inactive). "What's" exciting "about new discoveries, he says, is to suggest that LAC could help identify people with a more severe subtype of depression." In psychiatry, we lack substances that can serve as diagnostic markers. "

Brennan, who was not involved in the stu dy, also pointed out that this is not a proof that LAC supplements

"Current evidence is mixed," he noted. "It may be a target for treatment, but it is far away."

In the future, said Brennan, the treatment trials could include only depressive patients who have particularly low LAC levels.

James Potash, a professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University, was born in Toronto.

: "Perhaps it would be better to focus on these patients because they might have the best chance of answering [to supplements]," said Potash.In the study

he said that research like this is important because with better understanding In the "biology of depression", more refined treatments can be developed.

For now, Potash said: the proven treatments we have. There is good evidence for various treatments, not just antidepressants. "

The most commonly used antidepressants are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which act on serotonin, a" chemical messenger "in the brain, but the drugs are not effective for the entire body. depression

Depression differs from one person to another – just like his biology, said Brennan. "So it's too simplistic to give everyone the same treatment," he said.

Rasgon stated that LAC indirectly affects serotonin, so the link between the amino acid and depression does not rule out any role for serotonin, she notes. 19659002] "Depression is very complicated to treat," said Rasgon. "We learn that there are so many different pieces to this puzzle, it's another piece that falls into place." [19659002] The study was published online July 30 in Acts of the Academy National Science Library

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