Researchers Probe DNA Clues to 1-in-1,000 Postpartum Psychosis as Clancy Case Tests Limits
Updated
Updated · The Boston Globe · Aug 12
Researchers Probe DNA Clues to 1-in-1,000 Postpartum Psychosis as Clancy Case Tests Limits
3 articles · Updated · The Boston Globe · Aug 12
Summary
No clinical genetic test can yet diagnose or reliably predict postpartum psychosis, experts said as testimony in the Lindsay Clancy case raised whether earlier DNA or blood testing could have flagged risk.
Recent studies still suggest genetics may explain roughly half of susceptibility, with an NIH paper in May linking the HMGCR gene to the illness while stressing the underlying variants remain poorly understood.
Researchers say blood-based biomarkers tied to neurosteroids and epigenetic changes may prove more useful than broad genome scans in identifying women biologically vulnerable after childbirth.
Massachusetts General Hospital’s MGHP3 project is collecting psychiatric histories and saliva DNA nationwide, but clinicians for now still depend largely on patient-reported symptoms to guide treatment.
Pharmacogenetic tools such as GeneSight can help assess dosing or side-effect risk for psychiatric drugs, yet reviews say they cannot reliably predict which medication will work and are not recommended routinely.