NU 2010-062, NU 2013-167, and NU 2013-168
PRIMARY INVENTOR Eva Redei
SHORT DESCRIPTION A diagnostic platform and method to accurately diagnose and predict treatment response in patients suffering from depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.
BACKGROUND Psychiatric disorders, such as major depressive disorder (MDD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), are a critical cause of morbidity and disability worldwide. The huge socioeconomic burden of MDD and PTSD necessitates the development of new approaches to translational research and effective treatment strategies. A notable barrier to addressing this public health threat involves early and reliable identification of the disorder, as many affected individuals are undiagnosed, misdiagnosed, or diagnosed after a long period of suffering. An objective blood-based diagnostic test that measures the transcript levels of a panel of markers would provide an invaluable tool against these barriers. With existing and well-established infrastructure for other diagnostic tests, including equipment, trained personnel, billing, and governmental approval, the task of adding blood-based diagnostic markers for depression would be relatively simple.
ABSTRACT Northwestern researchers have established panels of over a dozen blood biomarkers related to depression that may more accurately: (1) detect early-onset MDD in adolescents; (2) distinguish adolescent patients who have comorbid anxiety disorders from those with only MDD; (3) detect major depressive disorder (MDD) in adults, including pregnant and postpartum women; (4) predict responsiveness to cognitive behavior therapy and likelihood of MDD relapse; and (5) detect post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Except for PTSD, these findings are based on pilot human studies for the diagnostic effectiveness of the panels, in comparison to classical interview-based diagnostic methods by mental health professionals. This cross-validation provided a high sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of MDD using the panel of transcripts. Thus, clinically valid diagnostic panels of blood transcripts can be developed for different manifestations of MDD and PTSD to ease the diagnosis and treatment burden of patients, their families, primary care physicians, and other healthcare practitioners. This technology can reduce diagnostic heterogeneity and advance individualized treatment strategies.
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PUBLICATIONS Media Articles: TIME Magazine | Independent News | Chicago Tribune
Pajer K, … Redei EE. (2012) Discovery of blood transcriptomic markers for depression in animal models and pilot validation in subjects with early onset major depression. Transl Psychiatry. 2: e101. PMID: 22832901
Redei EE et al. (2014) Blood transcriptomic biomarkers in adult primary care patients with major depressive disorder undergoing cognitive behavioral therapy. Transl Psychiatry. 4: e442. PubMed PMID: 25226551
Yu JS, Xue AY, Redei EE, Bagheri N. (2016) A support vector machine model provides an accurate transcript level-based diagnostic to identify Major
Depressive Disorder. Transl Psychiatry. 6: e931. PMID: 27779627
Redei EE et al. (2021) Pilot validation of blood-based biomarkers during pregnancy and postpartum in women with prior or current depression. Transl Psychiatry. 11, 68. PMID: 33479202
IP STATUS Issued US Patent numbers 9,469,875; 9,951,387; 10,428,384; and 10,544,462