A simple blood test and four weeks later, your doctor tells you whether or not you have bipolar disorder. This test will be possible from April 1 in France. If until today, diagnoses of psychological disorders, including bipolar disorder, were based exclusively on clinical observation by a psychiatrist via interviews, the launch of myEDIT-B is a game changer. .
This is the first blood test to differentiate depression from bipolar disorder, a psychiatric disorder in which patients alternate between depressive and manic phases. This test would allow many people with bipolarity to be diagnosed – and therefore treated – in time. A revolution for the one to two million people affected in France. Who is this test for? How does it work ? What is his interest ? We tell you everything.
To whom it is addressed ?
This blood test is aimed at adults treated with medication for a moderate or severe depressive episode. Particularly targeted are those likely to be affected by bipolarity, in particular because there are cases in their family or they have obtained very specific responses to antidepressants. Either very rapid effectiveness or, on the contrary, a worsening of depression. Prescribed by a psychiatrist, the blood test must be carried out in one of the 400 Synlab brand laboratories. “The majority of the population will be less than two hours from a participating laboratory,” explains Florian Scherrer, medical director of the Synlab network. (For technological reasons), for the moment, we prefer to do it in our laboratories.”
How does it work ?
Researchers from Alcediag, the biopharmaceutical company based in Hérault behind the test, started from the idea that the brain is an organ like any other. “When the heart or kidney malfunctions, it emits specific disease signals into the blood,” explains Alexandra Prieux, president of Alcediag. It is the same with the brain. » These signals, or biomarkers, can then be captured by a blood test.
For ten years, the company carried out studies to find the differentiating elements between patients with depression and those with bipolar disorder. To do this, they dug into RNA and a specific mechanism: RNA editing. “This physiological mechanism occurs normally in everyone but is altered by certain pathologies, such as psychiatric illnesses,” underlines the president of the start-up.
Alcediag assures us: the reliability of the test is greater than 80%. “Apart from certain genetic studies, it is rare to have 100% reliable tests,” maintains Alexandra Prieux. Although it is therefore not impossible to obtain a false positive, the impact must be qualified because it is only a diagnostic aid tool. After sending the results within four weeks, it is up to the doctor to make the final diagnosis, particularly with the patient’s history and family history.
How much does it cost ?
A significant detail: the test costs 899 euros and is not currently reimbursed by Social Security. It is therefore up to the patient to foot the bill. “We have ten years of investment on our own funds,” explains Alexandra Prieux. The development of this test was very expensive. We used the latest sequencing technologies.”
The start-up’s objective is now to obtain reimbursement from Health Insurance. A clinical utility study is underway to measure the impact of the test on the progression of the disease. It should last three years. Economic studies will be carried out subsequently, in order to measure its financial interest.
What is his interest ?
On average, it takes eight to 10 years for a person with bipolar disorder to be diagnosed, and the illness is often confused with depression. For good reason, in certain patients, the phases of elation are much less marked than the depressive episodes. And the consequences can be disastrous. “If we treat bipolar disorder with long-term antidepressants, this can worsen the pathology by causing faster cycles,” assures Chantal Henry, professor of psychiatry at GHU Paris psychiatry and neurosciences. In these patients, antidepressants should be combined with mood stabilizers to avoid manic turns.
During these years of medical wandering, the patient’s quality of life can seriously deteriorate. “By reducing the occurrence of phases, people still have vulnerabilities but they can function, have less risk of losing their job, consuming toxic substances, developing an anxiety disorder, damaging their family and emotional life and “make suicide attempts,” concludes the psychiatrist.