History of Psychiatric Biomarkers

Biomarkers in psychiatric disorders long been the “holy grail” of psychiatry. What is the status of the research and where are we now? The advent of the DSM-5 was suppose to be a new chapter in psychiatry where biomarkers and lab tests would aid in the diagnosis and treatment. However, that has not panned out.

• Kennis, M., Gerritsen, L., van Dalen, M., Williams, A., Cuijpers, P., & Bockting, C. (2019). Prospective biomarkers of major depressive disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Molecular psychiatry, 1-18.
• Aftab, A. (2023) Dexamethasone Suppression Test - The OG Psychiatric Biomarker

• Shorter, Edward, and Max Fink. Endocrine psychiatry: Solving the riddle of melancholia. Oxford University Press, 2010.
• Kellner, C. H. (2011). Endocrine psychiatry: the dexamethasone suppression test and electroconvulsive therapy. Psychiatric Times, 28(3), 57-57.
• Toronto Star: The severe form of depression you may not know about

• Cynthia S. Weickert et al. “Biomarkers in Schizophrenia: A Brief Conceptual Consideration,” Disease Markers, vol. 35, no. 1, Article ID 510402, 7 pages, 2013.

There are in fact already validated “biomarkers” in psychiatry for several neuropsychiatric disorders, including:

• DiGeorge (22q11.2 Deletion) Syndrome and its association with schizophrenia
• Narcolepsy and the hypocretin (orexin) deficiency on CSF
• Dementias such as Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD)