Study finds biomarkers for depression

June 10, 2021 - 13:30

Results contribute to a better understanding of the biological basis of depression and to the development of new therapeutic approaches.

Depression is one of the most common diseases and its severity is often underestimated. Affected individuals are significantly impaired in their quality of life and ability to work. Despite extensive research, it is still not really understood what happens biologically during depression. New approaches to understanding the mechanisms of the disease are provided by metabolomics, in which the products (metabolites) of metabolic reactions are studied. "The metabolome, that is the complete entity of all metabolites, is very sensitive to different disease conditions. It is virtually the "metabolic fingerprint" of the physical condition and offers new insights into disease mechanisms or the further course of disease," explains Helena Zacharias, Professor of Clinical Metabolomics at the Medical Faculty of Kiel Christian Albrechts University (CAU) since April and member of the Cluster of Excellence "Precision Medicine in Chronic Inflammation" (PMI).

You can find the complete (German) press release here.