Researchers Discover Anxiety Biomarkers, Developing a Blood Test

Earlier this month, researchers published a study in Molecular Psychiatry identifying genetic biomarkers for anxiety disorders. The study used a four-step approach to identify objective assessments for anxiety disorders — by developing a blood test — focusing on risk prediction, analyzing pharmacogenomics, and pinpointing drugs that can be repurposed for anxiety disorders.

In the first portion of the published article, coined the discovery portion, the researchers collected data on patients with major psychiatric changes and changes in state anxiety. They looked at multiple factors of gene expression that may provide objective screening tools for anxiety disorders, including the following:

• Changes in gene expression for patients with high anxiety versus low anxiety states, based on self-reported data
• Changes in the anxiety state across multiple visits per patient
• Differences in anxiety states across patients

Throughout the first step of this study, the researchers identified 7,195 unique genes that may contribute to anxiety disorders.

In the next step, prioritization, clinicians focused on sifting through the biomarkers identified and prioritizing the most important using a Convergent Functional Genomics approach. According to the publication, researchers also collected information from human and animal studies. The researchers narrowed down the significant biomarkers to 238 unique genes.

These 238 genes moved to the validation step, where the investigators focused on finding the most statistically significant portion of the genes identified. The researchers examined a group of patients with severe anxiety independent of the initial cohort. Based on the data from this study portion, the clinicians identified 82 unique genes.

Furthermore, the final component of the trial was to test the clinical utility of these genetic biomarkers using another independent cohort of patients. This study assessed how well the biomarkers could predict anxiety, the severity of the anxiety state, and future hospitalizations associated with anxiety.

According to the publication, multiple genes, including GAD1, NTRK3, ADRA2A, FZD10, GRK4, and SLC6A4, were the best biomarkers for anxiety.

Beyond that, researchers identified multiple medications that target these specific biomarkers, promoting precision medicine in mental health spaces. Additionally, the investigators identified drugs that could be repurposed for anxiety treatments based on these biomarkers.

“Given the detrimental impact of untreated anxiety, the current lack of objective measures to guide treatment, and the addiction potential of existing benzodiazepines-based anxiety medications, there is an urgent need for more precise and personalized approaches like the one we developed,” noted researchers in the study.