[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/10066\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EDefeating depression through early risk detection and targeted medication \u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDepression is a chronic illness and a first episode of lingering low mood \u2013 the kind that\u2019s so severe it disrupts daily life \u2013 is often followed by relapses. Around half of sufferers experience the condition more than once.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EFor many, it becomes a lifelong condition. In the European Union alone, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/eurostat\/web\/products-eurostat-news\/-\/edn-20210910-1\u0022\u003E7.2% of people\u003C\/a\u003E suffer from chronic depression, with women four times more at risk.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EAs doctors and scientists work to bring this global epidemic under control, one idea gaining traction is that identifying people who are at risk before they become depressed will protect their mental health in the future.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018It\u2019s becoming increasingly clear that a first episode of depression is the trigger for a second, so scientifically there\u2019s a decent probability that preventing the first episode can stop the next,\u2019 said Dr Eiko Fried, associate professor of psychology at Leiden University in the Netherlands.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nDr Fried is the principal investigator of \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/id\/949059\u0022\u003EWARN-D\u003C\/a\u003E, an EU-funded project that sets out to forecast who is at risk of \u2018falling into the valley\u2019 and then generate a personalised programme for preventing this from happening. The project began in 2021 and runs until 2026.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEarly warnings\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EWhile preventative programmes already exist \u2013 including psychological interventions that build resilience \u2013 they can work only when at-risk individuals are identified in time.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EWARN-D is the first study attempting to build a reliable early-warning system.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EIt will take the shape of a smartphone application that can monitor the mental health of a user in real time and blend this information with what is known about the person\u2019s social, psychological and biological background. The objective is to catch people as they approach their personal tipping point: the moment when the disturbances stacking up in their life put them at risk of tumbling.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EDevelopment of the app will start within the next two years. First, the researchers must pick through reams of data, looking for common features between individuals with a susceptibility to depression.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003EA first episode of depression is the trigger for a second, so scientifically there\u2019s a decent probability that preventing the first episode can stop the next.\r\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EDr Eiko Fried, WARN-D\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThey aim to group people according to a complex set of traits that include personality (e.g. extrovert versus introvert), factors that have catalysed the development of their disorder (such as a traumatic childhood) and a person\u2019s innate ability to bounce back from setbacks (otherwise known as resilience).\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nDifferent groups are likely to respond to different interventions, meaning a preventative programme must be tailored to be successful.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAt-risk youth\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe study uses a pool of 2 000 young-adult students \u2013 recruited 500 at a time \u2013 based in the Netherlands. People in this demographic are disproportionately affected by depression and, as a result, are of particular interest to the researchers.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Early-onset depression is associated with a worse clinical outcome over a person\u2019s lifespan,\u2019 said Dr Fried. \u2018Many young people will spend over 20% of their lives in a state of depression.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EAnother plus side of recruiting young students is that they are easily persuaded (with the help of a cash incentive of up to \u20ac90) to wear a smartwatch night and day for the first three months of their two-year study. The watch tracks activity ranging from steps taken to hours slept and taps into stress levels using a heartrate sensor.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EIn addition, the participating students are asked questions four times a day about in-the-moment matters believed to play a role in depression. The queries can be about how well they slept, how happy they feel, how angry they are and what they happen to be doing at that moment.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EPlus, every Sunday the students receive some more global questions about anxiety and depression such as: what were the best and worst events from the week?\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The holy grail is to figure out the ways in which people are different in their stress response and the ways in which they\u2019re similar,\u2019 Dr Fried said. \u2018Once we find the communalities, we can start working on systems that will make people more resilient.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhy so sad?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ESymptoms of depression range from intense sadness, tiredness and brain fog to sleep disturbance, loss of appetite and a lack of interest in previously enjoyable activities.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe causes of the condition almost certainly involve an interaction of many factors, some biological and others environmental. Genes probably play a role, with a person more likely to develop depression if someone in the family has also been affected. That said, anyone can become depressed.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nPotential triggers include stress, poverty, illness, hormonal changes and traumatic life events such as childhood adversity and bereavement.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EAlthough some research shows drugs can help, antidepressants are hit-and-miss at best, with only half of patients responding positively to their first prescription. Getting medication right from the start would have a big impact on both individual sufferers and the economy \u2013 and would ease pressure on doctors.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003EOur ultimate hope is to fast-track the right treatment, so patients no longer have to endure the unacceptable and life-threatening process of trial-and-error medication selection.\r\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EDr Talia Cohen Solal, RxMine\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EDr Talia Cohen Solal is a neuroscientist and the chief executive officer of Genetika+, an Israeli company developing tools to create personalised depression treatment.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u2018What we have is a trial-and-error approach to medication,\u2019 said Dr Cohen Solal. \u2018As a result, 63% of patients try multiple medications, and a third don\u2019t respond after two rounds of treatment.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBrain in a dish\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EFor her EU-funded project, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/id\/190160513\u0022\u003ERxMine\u003C\/a\u003E, she uses a \u2018brain in a dish\u2019 model (where human brain stem cells and networks are generated in the lab from blood samples using stem cell technology) to identify the optimal antidepressant for each patient.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EIn earlier research, Dr Cohen Solal\u2019s team discovered specific cellular changes called \u2018biomarkers\u2019 in brain tissue that are linked to a patient\u2019s responsiveness to a given drug.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nFor a person to have a successful response to an antidepressant, sufficient changes in the levels of those corresponding biomarkers must be found in the generated brain models.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers envision a world where all patients with depression are offered a test to determine which drug is most suited to their condition. This could reduce \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/29474009\/\u0022\u003Edepression-related healthcare costs by 43%\u003C\/a\u003E, with savings of up to \u20ac6 500 per patient a year.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe team is expanding its trials to new drugs while working on ways to making its testing procedures more efficient.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We hope to have something to roll out within two years,\u2019 said Dr Cohen Solal. \u2018Our ultimate hope is to fast-track the right treatment, so patients no longer have to endure the unacceptable and life-threatening process of trial-and-error medication selection.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EResearch in this article was funded via the EU\u2019s European Research Council (ERC) and European Innovation Council (EIC). 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