- eSchool News - https://www.eschoolnews.com -

Teen depression can be diagnosed with new blood test, Northwestern University says

Northwestern Medicine scientist Eva Redei [1] has developed the first blood test to diagnose major depression in teens [2] — a breakthrough that allows for scientific and objective diagnosis over current subjective methods, the Huffington Post reports. Physicians have relied upon a patient’s ability to recount symptoms, which is tricky among teens who are both highly vulnerable to depression and less able to express their symptoms changes during this age period. The estimated rates of major depressive disorder jump from 2 to 4 percent in pre-adolescent children to 10 to 20 percent by late adolescence. Early onset of major depression in teens has a poorer prognosis than when it starts in adulthood. Untreated teens with this disease experience increases in substance abuse, social maladjustment, physical illness and suicide, according to Redei…

Click here for the full story [3]