A Urine Test Could Distinguish Between Bipolar Disorder And Depression

(Also posted in Depression forum)

Article at IFLScience:
A Urine Test Could Distinguish Between Bipolar Disorder And Depression

The study is here:
Divergent Urinary Metabolic Phenotypes between Major Depressive Disorder and Bipolar Disorder Identified by a Combined GC–MS and NMR Spectroscopic Metabonomic Approach

Abstract:
Bipolar disorder (BD) is a complex debilitating mental disorder that is often misdiagnosed as major depressive disorder (MDD). Therefore, a large percentage of BD subjects are incorrectly treated with antidepressants in clinical practice. To address this challenge, objective laboratory-based tests are needed to discriminate BD from MDD patients. Here, a combined gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS)-based and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopic-based metabonomic approach was performed to profile urine samples from 76 MDD and 43 BD subjects (training set) to identify the differential metabolites. Samples from 126 healthy controls were included as metabolic controls. A candidate biomarker panel was identified by further analyzing these differential metabolites. A testing set of, 50 MDD and 28 BD subjects was then used to independently validate the diagnostic efficacy of the identified panel using an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). A total of 20 differential metabolites responsible for the discrimination between MDD and BD subjects were identified. A panel consisting of six candidate urinary metabolite biomarkers (propionate, formate, (R*,S*)2,3-dihydroxybutanoic acid, 2,4-dihydroxypyrimidine, phenylalanine, and β-alanine) was identified. This panel could distinguish BD from MDD subjects with an AUC of 0.913 and 0.896 in the training and testing sets, respectively. These results reveal divergent urinary metabolic phenotypes between MDD and BD. The identified urinary biomarkers can aid in the future development of an objective laboratory-based diagnostic test for distinguishing BD from MDD patients.

I love advancements in medical science. Fascinating stuff.

My doc told me about a DNA test that can be done to pinpoint what areas you need assistance with. It's supposed to help determine the meds for you. I just don't know about having my DNA out there. Lot's of companies getting hacked these days and if I get cancer I don't want insurance getting a hold of it. A little paranoid, but still.... just being paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you!

Thanks this was a great article

There are no tests that can determine that you have bipolar. They say our dopamine and serotonin levels have an imbalance, but there are no biological/brain tests that can determine you have bipolar disorder. I have never heard of this DNA test. Where can I find out about this DNA test?



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Its a metabolic test to determine what meds could possibly be helpful to you. Right?

Exactly. Plus I read that the DNA test is basically useless too.

Sounds like a lovely idea.. But reality? It is a long way off in actually being helpful in any major way.

Science

I'll get the information from the booklet and post it... I've been debating it. My doc swears by it!