Indiana University Researchers Develop Blood Test for PTSD

Researchers at Indiana University have developed a blood test that could help more accurately diagnose post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. The study tracked more than 250 veterans in over 600 visits at the Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center in Indianapolis, attempting to identify a molecule in the blood to track stress intensity. The research was published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry. Over a decade, they evaluated gene expression in participants in both low- and high-stress states. They narrowed the research down to 285 individual biomarkers related to 269 genes, which were compared to other identified markers of stress and aging. PTSD occurs when a person experiences or witnesses a traumatic or terrifying event, typically where significant physical harm happened or could have happened. This results in a long-term psychological response marked by shock, anger, nervousness, fear, and guilt. These are common in anyone experiencing this type of trauma, but in PTSD the feeling continues and often become worse, affecting their ability to have a normal life.