IU startup develops blood test to signal anxiety
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An Indiana University-affiliated startup says it has developed a blood test for anxiety. Indianapolis-based MindX says the test examines biomarkers that can help them objectively determine someone’s risk for developing anxiety, the severity of their current case and which therapies would best treat their anxiety.
Dr. Alexander Niculescu, a professor of psychiatry at the Indiana University School of Medicine says many people are suffering from anxiety, which can be very disabling and interfere with daily life.
“Traditionally anxiety disorders used to be considered a little bit less serious, less serious than, let’s say, bipolar disorder or schizophrenia or other ‘major psychiatric disorders,’” said Niculescu. “But they can be very disabling. That can be very impairing, interfering with daily life.”
Niculescu says it is important to determine which drug therapies are best for the patient, as some medications can be addictive and create more problems.
“We wanted to see if our approach to identify blood biomarkers could help us match people to existing medications that will work better and could be a non-addictive choice,” said Niculescu.
Previous research conducted by Niculescu has led to the development of blood tests for pain, depression/bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.
LISTEN: Niculescu comments on the MindX discovery.
This latest study uses similar methods for anxiety. However, there are people who have anxiety and are misdiagnosed.
“They go with for months or years without the proper diagnosis. They have panic attacks and they think they’re having a heart attack…and end up in the ER. When fact, it’s an anxiety disorder. So if you knew that earlier that you could avoid all this sort of pain and suffering and distress.
Niculescu says this new test could also be used in combination with the other blood tests his research has led to, which he says would provide a more comprehensive view of a patient’s mental health and risk of future mental health concerns.
“Prevention is better in the long run, so our goal is to be able to provide a comprehensive report for patients and their physicians using simply one tube of blood,” said Niculescu.