The Use of

Biomarkers in
Identifying
Depression in
Adolescents
Cameron Jacobs
Overview
Introduction/Background

Inflammation Biomarkers

Neurological and Neuroendocrine Biomarkers

Other Biomarkers

Concluding Thoughts
 Background

1 in 5 adolescents Many teens have

(20.9%) experience difficulty in
major depressive articulating
episodes. (CDC, emotional
2022) experiences.

Undiagnosed depression
can lead to severe Many adolescents
outcomes. hide their true
feelings,
Suicide is the second complicating early
leading cause of death for detection
15-to-24-year-olds.
Early identification and The Goal
treatment are crucial to
prevent possible drastic
outcomes Researchers are
exploring biomarkers Field of adolescent
as a solution to biomarkers for
identifying depression. depression is still in its
early stages.
They hope to use
biomarkers in However, the work
adolescents to done so far has been
understand depression promising.
better and develop
effective diagnostic
tools.
 Inflammation and Depression in Adolescents

Higher morning cortisol Altered levels of

to C-reactive protein Dysregulation between
neurotrophins and
(CRP) ratio predicts cortisol and CRP may serve
inflammatory markers
depression in as an early predictor of
adolescent depression. are linked to suicide risk.
adolescents. (Fong et al., (Priya et al., 2016)
(Landau et al.,
2022)
2021, Veltman et al., 2018)

Conversely, higher
depression is linked to
greater IL-8 and IL-10 levels,
Higher CRP, IL-6, and TNF-α are suggesting a bidirectional
associated with later depressive relationship. (Priya et al.,
symptoms, implying inflammation 2016).
role in depression. (Moriarity et
al., 2020)
 Limitations to Inflammation Studies

More studies needed to

Modest associations
establish the
observed; self-reported
relationship between
depressive symptoms
inflammation and
used, not clinical
depression in
diagnoses.
adolescents.
 Neurological and Neuroendocrine Biomarkers:
HPA Axis and Depression in Adolescents

In adolescent studies, Variations in HPA axis genes

Strong evidence of HPA
axis dysregulation in adult
depression. (Belvederi
Murri et al., 2014).
associated with Major
they found heightened
Depressive Disorder in
HPA axis activity. adolescent girls. (Humphreys
(Freimer et al., 2022) et al., 2019).

Adolescents show a more pronounced HPA axis response and elevated cortisol levels compared to
adults.

Psychosocial stress can lead to long-term HPA axis dysregulation and contribute to adolescent
depression.
 Neurological and Neuroendocrine Biomarkers:
Alpha-Tubulin Acetylation and Adolescent Depression

Study found decreased levels of a-tubulin acetylation in

individuals with MDD. (Singh et al., 2020).

G-αs Sequestration is associated with depression, may be

linked to low α-tubulin acetylation.

Increased α-tubulin acetylation may mimic antidepressant

effects by promoting Gαs translocation from lipid rafts.

Suggests a potential link between low α-tubulin acetylation, Gαs

sequestration, and MDD development.
Support and Limitations for Neurological and Neuroendocrine
Biomarkers

Support Limitations

Research covered
Supported by previous
various age groups;
studies showing the
further investigation
antidepressant-like
needed for
response to higher
adolescent-specific use
α-tubulin acetylation.
as a biomarker.
 Other Biomarkers and Depression: Heart
Study by Byrne et al. (2010)
found that depressed
adolescents had higher resting
heart rates compared to
non-depressed
The elevated heart rate
Limitations:
persisted even after
considering factors like
Study focused on
sex, depressive severity,
adolescents with less
etc
severe depression who
didn't require medication,
Potential factors
may limit the
implicated in the link
generalizability of the
between depression and
findings
heart disease include
blood clotting, coronary
artery function, and
immune system
responses.
 Other Biomarkers and Depression: Gut
Study investigated gut
permeability in people with
depression and found a positive
correlation between two
(Calarge et al., 2019).
The study suggests a
potential link between
increased gut Opens avenues for future
permeability, the research on the
gut-immune
sympathetic nervous
system (SNS), and system-depression
depressive symptoms. relationship and the
potential use of gut health
as a target for depression
This hints that the treatment.
combination of
gut health and the
immune system
may influence
depression.
 Other Biomarkers and Depression: HPA Axis and Microbiota
Combination
Research found gut
microbiota dysregulation More research is needed
can negatively affect the to assess the efficacy
HPA axis, potentially and safety of probiotics
contributing MDD in for adolescent
adolescents (Freimer et al., depression due to limited
2022). research in this
population.

The processes by which

probiotics influence gut
Potential use of probiotics as a microbiota and the brain
novel treatment for adolescent are not well-understood
depression
 Final Thoughts

Ongoing research is needed

More research is essential
to understand the
before making definitive
relationship between
claims about these
biomarkers and adolescent
correlations.
depression.

Future studies should

While some biomarkers
validate existing research,
show strong links to
explore new biomarkers,
depression, others require
and use longitudinal
further exploration.
approaches.
 Hopes for the future

Combining
Identifying
psychological
biomarkers for
evaluation with
adolescent
biomarker tests
depression could
can improve
lead to early
diagnostic
diagnosis and
accuracy in
intervention.
adolescents.
Thank you!
Questions?
 References
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