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Health: a blood test to diagnose bipolarity
Health: a blood test to diagnose bipolarity
(franceinfo)
Bipolar disorders affect more than 1.5 million people in France. The diagnosis, which can be long, will be made easier thanks to the marketing of a blood test.
A new blood test to differentiate between depression and bipolar disorder could allow a diagnosis to be made in four weeks, compared to 8 to 10 years currently. In addition to the treatment pathway, the test is based on the sequencing of RNA, the molecule carrying genetic information, which can be analyzed using artificial intelligence. Available from Monday April 1, this test is not unanimous. “This is a good approach in terms of diagnosis and to improve care. On the other hand, this test precisely poses a problem, because it is not sufficiently scientifically validated to be marketed.“, nuance Boris Chaumette, psychiatrist, teacher and researcher at Inserm.
More than a million people affected by bipolarity
The test has not been approved by the High Authority of Health. Therefore, it will not be reimbursed and its price of 899 euros will have to be paid by the patient. Currently, bipolar disorders take a long time to diagnose. According to health authorities, bipolar disorders affect between 1% and 3% of the French population, or more than a million people.
