Current methods for diagnosing and treating depression remain largely trial and error with no objective measures or blood tests available. But a team led by Alexander Niculescu, M.D., Ph.D., professor of psychiatry at Indiana University, is hoping to bring personalized medicine approach to the condition and other mood disorders. They…

Developers of pharmacogenetic tests cheered in August when United Healthcare (UHC) concluded in a policy statement effective October 1, that “the use of pharmacogenetic multi-gene panels to guide therapy decisions is proven and medically necessary for antidepressants and antipsychotics” when all of three criteria are met: The individual has a…

Shares of Myriad Genetics fell more than 40% on Tuesday, after the molecular diagnostics developer lowered its earnings guidance for its current fiscal year and reported lower-than-expected quarterly revenue that its CEO blamed on this year’s change in Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes covering hereditary cancer testing for two genes.…

Researchers in the United States and Switzerland have identified neural subcircuits and genetic biomarkers in mice that are linked with a common symptom of depression. The studies, headed by a team at the University of California (UC), Berkeley, identified the gene targets for treating lack of motivation in a mouse…

Since the completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003, the pharmacogenomics industry has experienced waxes and wanes in reaction to healthcare dynamics and technological advancements.[i] With the continued push towards personalized medicine, pharmacogenetics offers organizations a potential solution to fine-tune therapy by helping predict the patient’s response to a…

Genomind said it has resumed including information about medications in its reports on pharmacogenomic tests, a month after removing it—but only in versions of the reports that are sent to physicians. Patient reports will continue to omit the information on specific medication names and classes, furnishing gene-only information instead, the…

The nation’s largest private health insurer, UnitedHealthcare, announced August 1 that it will cover testing that will allow physicians to match their patients to anti-depressants most likely to work for them based on their genetic profiles. The new coverage policy, which also includes multi-gene panel testing for antipsychotic medications, goes…

Researchers suggest that individual variation in genes alters our ability to regulate emotions, providing new insights that could help in the development of personalized therapies to tackle anxiety and depression. Some individuals are at greater risk of developing anxiety and depression than others and this depends in part upon the…

The NIH plans to spend $42 million over five years to fund clinical trials designed to evaluate whether and how the management of diseases such as high blood pressure, depression and chronic pain can be improved through genomic medicine. The trials to be funded constitute the second phase of the…

On April 4, the U.S. Food and Drug Association (FDA) issued a warning letter to Virginia-based Inova Genomics Laboratory—a division of the Inova Translational Medicine Institute—for illegally marketing its MediMap pharmacogenomics tests that have not been reviewed by the FDA for safety and effectiveness. The tests in question are used…

The results of a genome-wide meta-analysis of genetic data from more than two million individuals has linked 102 genetic variants and 269 genes with depression, and found associations between the psychiatric disorder and a number of behavioral traits. The researchers, headed by a team at the University of Edinburgh, say…

The gut/brain connection grew much stronger this week with the publication of the first population-level study on the link between gut bacteria and mental health. The research identified specific gut bacteria linked to depression and provides evidence that a wide range of gut bacteria can produce neuroactive compounds. The study,…

It may be possible to diagnose depression using more than just a patient’s behavioral symptoms. New findings suggest that people with major depressive disorder (MDD) have lower levels of the molecule acetyl-L-carnitine (LAC) in their blood than healthy controls. In addition, the degree of LAC deficiency reflects the severity and the age…

Forty-four genetic variants, 30 of them newly-discovered, are risk factors for major depression, a global research consortium has concluded in a new study that essentially maps out the genetic basis of the mental health disorder. The Major Depressive Disorder Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium revealed its findings in…

Assurex Health, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Myriad Genetics, said today its GeneSight genetic test will be studied in veterans diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD) through a partnership with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. GeneSight will be evaluated in the PRIME Care (PRecision Medicine In MEntal Health Care) study,…