PreventDisease.com - Blood Test May Help Predict Schizophrenia



		Blood Test May Help Predict Schizophrenia NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A relatively simple blood test for diagnosing schizophrenia has been proposed by Israeli researchers. The test is based on the fact that people with schizophrenia, the most common form of mental illness, show excessive activity of dopamine, a chemical messenger that allows nerve cells in the brain to communicate. People with the disorder have higher levels of receptors for dopamine on the surface of cells. By measuring the number of receptors, an Israeli research team guessed that they might be able to diagnose schizophrenia. At the moment, doctors diagnose schizophrenia with psychiatric and behavioral tests. Dr. Sara Fuchs, of the Weizmann Institute of Science, and colleagues compared blood samples taken from 14 people with schizophrenia with blood samples from 11 individuals without schizophrenia. Their findings are published in the January 16th issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In their study, the researchers collected white blood cells, which have the receptor on their surface, from the blood samples. They found that the blood of patients with schizophrenia contained, on average, 3.6 times more of a marker for a type of dopamine receptor called D3 than the blood of healthy people. ``The high levels were observed in patients treated with a variety of drugs, as well as in patients who received no medications,'' according to a written statement from the Weizmann Institute. ``On the basis of these findings, the scientists propose to use the blood test determining the levels of (the precursor to) D3 receptors on the membranes of white blood cells as a test for schizophrenia.'' A diagnostic blood test would be ``of high value'' for doctors working with schizophrenia, a US expert told Reuters Health. While current psychological tests are reliable, they are ``by no means perfect,'' Dr. Kenneth Kendler, Banks professor of Psychiatry at the Medical College of Virginia, of Virginia Commonwealth University said. SOURCE: National Academy of Sciences 2001;98:625-628. Reference Source 89 For more information on prevention topics for this and other conditions, use PreventDisease.com's "Quick Prevention Resources".