Blood test could reveal bipolar disorder

CrazyinVA

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Wow, this was on the front page of the MSNBC site just now and I had to share it ... very interesting..

A blood test could be used to diagnose and assess the severity of certain mental illnesses, such as bipolar disorder, according to a new study. But some experts think this raises ethical concerns about prying into a person's mental status.

link to full article here:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23337532/
 

totoro

Mom? What's a difficult child?
I was just about to post this!!! I am in the middle of a genetic research project with the Papolos'... I wonder what the long term will show... I would like to see the test done on the same patient during many cycles and moods... over many years... maybe even with a whole family.
Obviously with several thousand patients...
It would need to be looked over a period to really see what it is showing, I suppose.
I applaud any research, though. As long as it is not purely by pill pushers... or for job apps.
Very interesting....
 

pearlofgrace

New Member
Wow...amazing what they're discovering these days. Though I don't get how a blood test would work...a brain scan, that makes sense. They are working on that as well.

I agree with Totoro...as long as it's not being funded by pill pushers....these days that seems to be the agenda behind research. I'm not against medications, but they aren't the answer for everything.
 

ShakespeareMamaX

New Member
It would be nice to find this a successful (and possibly definite) way of DXing. No more guessing games, guinea pigs and trial runs with medications.

Ahhh....the life.
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
And how long before that screening becomes a requirement to enter school (especially for older kids/young adults, and a requirement for employment.

As a bipolar person myself, while I find the idea of being able to diagnosis using a blood test intrigueing; the social ramifications could lead to a slippery slope that we all need to be very aware of
 

TerryJ2

Well-Known Member
Wow, very cool. I hope it's not too expensive. When I had a DNA test done for my breast cancer (BRAC1 and 2) it was in the thousands.
 

lordhelpme

New Member
i think it would be great and as long as hippa is followed it is no different then getting any other blood test results in my humble opinion.
 

mattsmum

New Member
Thank you for posting...I hope someday they are able to detect bipolar with a blood test. Sometimes I question the diagnosis because it IS so subjective.
 
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