Using a new laboratory method they developed, researchers at the University of McGill have identified nine blood molecules that were high in adolescents diagnosed with depression. These molecules also predicted how symptoms could progress over time.
The clinical study findings could pave the way for the earliest detection, before the symptoms worse and become difficult to treat.
“Wiring, more and more teenagers are being diagnosed with depression, and when it starts early, the effects can be durable and serious,” said the main author Cecilia Flores, James McGill’s professor in the Department of Psychiatry at McGill, researcher at the Douglas Research Center and principal researcher at the Ludmer Center. “Adolescents with depression are more likely to fight with substance consumption, social isolation and the experience of symptoms that often do not respond well to treatment.”
In particular, the nine molecules, known as microarn, have not been related to adult depression, suggesting that they reflect exclusive biological processes of adolescents.
A minimally invasive and scalable approach
The study, conducted in collaboration with colleagues from the University of California, Los Angeles and Stanford University, focused on 62 adolescents: 34 with depression and 28 SIN. The researchers collected small volumes of blood samples, let them dry and then frozen the samples to preserve molecular integrity over time. These samples are taken with a simple finger puncture and are easy to store and transport, which makes the focus practical and scalable for broader use.
The McGill team developed the laboratory method used to extract and analyze microar from the samples.
“Our findings are paving the way to use dry blood spots as a practical tool in psychiatric research, which allows us to trace early biological changes linked to mental health using a minimally invasive method,” said the first author Alice Morgunva, postdoctoral fellow in McGill.
The diagnosis of depression is mainly based on self -informed symptoms. The authors say that this could delay attention, especially if adolescents do not recognize the signs or are not ready to talk about them. A blood -based detection tool could provide additional and more objective metric to identify adolescents at risk.
Researchers plan to validate their findings in larger teenagers and study how these microarn interact with genetic and environmental risk factors.
The study was financed by the Douglas Foundation and the Bombardier Fund, the National Institute on NIH drug abuse, Canadian Institutes for Health Research, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, a graduate fellow of brains for healthy students for the Institute of Students Health, an international association financed by the Fund of Excellence in Research of Canada, granted to the McGill University for the McGill University Healthy For Healthy Lives initiative.