Indiana University School of Medicine researchers have shown that a blood test might help diagnose and assess the severity of certain mental illnesses, such as bipolar disorder.

The study identified genes or other biomarkers that could be used to track the severity of symptoms in people already diagnosed with bipolar disorder: these same genes could be used to make an initial diagnosis.

Currently there are no biomarker tests for mental illnesses, separating psychiatry from other medical disciplines in which tests–such as those for diabetes or heart disease risk–exist.