BICBID study v2.0
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Blood immune cell biomarkers in depression (BICBID)
IRAS ID
260385
Contact name
Ed Bullmore
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust and University of Cambridge
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 10 months, 28 days
Research summary
Depression has an enormous impact on personal well-being, families and society. Current treatments sometimes control symptoms but many patients do not benefit from existing antidepressant drugs or psychological therapies. We know that the immune system, the body's defence system, can affect mood and brain function. Immune cells circulate in the blood. If there is infection or damage, immune cells and cytokines (chemical messengers) can travel to tissues including the brain where they can affect mood - for example, you might have noticed feeling tired and unhappy when you have the flu. In some patients with depression, the levels of these cytokines and cells are higher than normal, even though there is no infection. This makes us think that, for some people, inflammation might be contributing to their low mood, and that if we treat the inflammation, it might help them to recover.
At the moment there are no good tests doctors can use to detect whether the immune system is contributing to depression in a particular patient. We aim to develop a blood test that doctors could use to identify patients who have an 'inflammatory' type of depression that requires a different treatment.
As a first step, we want to find out which of the many different kinds of immune cells in the blood are the 'culprit cells' responsible for the inflammation we see in depression.
We will ask people with depression and people without depression to complete questionnaires about their symptoms and to give a blood sample. We will use cutting-edge techniques to see which genes are switched on in different cells in people experiencing depression compared to people who haven’t experienced depression. This is with the ultimate aim of developing a blood test that can help doctors tailor the treatment they give to each individual.
REC name
London - City & East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/LO/1413
Date of REC Opinion
19 Sep 2019
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion