Professors at East Tennessee State University’s Quillen College of Medicine are researching a blood test that could prevent months of frustration – and even save lives – by helping physicians prescribe the right antidepressant the first time.
If proved successful, the blood test will tell physicians in as little as one day whether a patient will respond well to a particular class of psychiatric drug – a process that can take months of trial-and-error to figure out, said Dr. Barney Miller, associate professor of psychiatry at the college, who developed the study alongside Dr. Barbara Turner, professor of physiology.
Miller and Turner began researching their idea in late summer with funding from a $20,000 internal grant from the department of psychiatry. Using a finger-prick blood test, the researchers studied people already taking medications for depression and looked for small differences in the blood samples of the patients to see if these variations were related to how people respond to a particular psychiatric drug.
With the study nearly halfway complete, the results have been promising, Miller said.
“We believe that one of the variations we found identifies a group of people who don’t respond well to a certain class of antidepressants,” Miller said, referring to medications like Paxil, Prozac and Zoloft – some of the brand names of a class of antidepressants called Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors, or SSRIs.
SSRIs work by increasing the amount of serotonin, a chemical which naturally occurs in the brain but is less active or present of a depressed person. By balancing the levels of serotonin, a patient’s mood can improve.
While the majority of depressed adult patients respond well to SSRIs in the correct dosage, about 30 to 40 percent of people do not benefit from them and are not relieved of their depression.
The test, then, would allow physicians to identify which patients don’t respond well to SSRIs so they can be prescribed another class of drug, Miller said.
After the preliminary research is complete, Miller said, the team will likely apply for a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to expand the project.
If all goes well, the test could go to market in a year or two – a proposition that could mean more money and greater prestige for the college and its 20-person psychiatry department, especially if a diagnostic company decides to purchase patent rights to the test.
Though Miller is unsure of how things will turn out, one thing is clear: ETSU is leading the way on this one.
“As far as I know, nobody else in the world is doing this,” Miller said.
The psychiatry department is still looking for men and women to take part in the study. People currently taking medications for depression are eligible, provided they know what type of medication they are taking and its dosage level.
Participants will receive $10. They will sign an informed consent document, spend approximately 15 minutes being interviewed by a psychiatrist, complete a questionnaire and have their finger pricked so that researchers can collect a few drops of blood.
Those interested should go to Building 52 on the VA/Quillen College of Medicine campus or call 439-2126 for more information.

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