Psychological therapy for patients with depression leaves a measurable mark in the blood. This is the main conclusion of a study led by Maria J. Portella, from IR Sant Pau, jointly with Analia Bortolozzi, from IIBB-CSIC, with Lluís Miquel-Rio and Muriel Vicent-Gil as first authors. The research, published in Scientific Reports, has identified different molecular signatures according to the type of psychological therapy applied to 22 patients with major depressive disorder. The results open the door to developing blood biomarkers that allow measuring the response to treatments and advancing towards precision psychiatry, adapted to the biological profile of each patient.
A psychologist expert in clinical neuropsychology and a doctor in Neurosciences, Portella trained at the Universitat de Barcelona and the University of Oxford. Born in Menorca, she is currently a senior researcher and head of the Mental Health Research Group at the Institut de Recerca Sant Pau, and an associate medical professor at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Her research focuses on the neurobiological and psychological factors of depression and the response to treatments, although she has also worked on schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Portella, who has published more than 150 scientific articles in international journals, is also the author of two popular science books on autism and neurodiversity.