U.S. researchers measure brain waves to predict effective depression treatment

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- A method has been discovered to measure brain waves to predict which drugs can be successfully used on individuals diagnosed with depression, it was announced on Sunday.

The test will reportedly eliminate a major problem for clinically-depressed persons and their doctors, who often must play a guessing game to find an effective anti-depressant from the dozens of drugs available, the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) said in the announcement.

Medical workers will be able to use brain patterns that can be measured outside the body to predict within a week how effective a drug will be, the researchers announced.

The method, called the Biomarkers for Rapid Identification of Treatment Effectiveness in Major Depression (BRITE), was described in the journal Psychiatry Research by a team of four UCLA doctors. It measures changes in brain-wave patterns using quantitative electroencephalography -- a non-evasive, computerized measurement that recognizes specific alterations in brain-wave activity.

Researchers said these changes precede improvement in mood by many weeks and appear to serve as a biomarker that accurately predicts how effective a given medication will be.

"Until now, other than waiting, there has been no reliable method for predicting whether a medication would lead to a good response or remission," said lead author Andrew Leuchter, a UCLA psychiatry professor, in a press release. "And that wait can be as long as 14 weeks. So these are very exciting findings for the patient suffering from depression."

"The BRITE results are a milestone in our efforts to develop clinically useful biomarkers for predicting treatment response in MDD (major depressive disorder)," Leuchter said.