Development of a diagnostic tool for depression, bipolar disorders and schizophrenia
Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), bipolar disorder (BD) and schizophrenia are severly debilitating inflictions. MDD and BD are both characterized by an extensive depressive symptomatology. Not only schizophrenia but also MDD and BD could present psychotic symptoms. In clinical practice, all these patients often show identical symptoms, challenging a reliable and objective destinction, and thus treatment, of these disorders. Investigations of specific biomarkers enabling an objective differentiation between MDD and BD or between BD and schizophrenia remain unsuccesful. New techniques, such as quantitative proteomics, are being embraced in order to encover relevant biomarkers for specific psychiatric disorders.
This project investigates if white blood cells could potentially be a highly specific tool to diagnose and differentiate unipolar depression (MDD), bipolar depression and schizophrenia.
Funding: PZ Duffel, BOF and VIB-DMG
In focus:
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