DSM-6 set to include biological factors — Live Science
The next edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, DSM-6, is planned to be supplemented with biological factors that will be considered within the diagnostic framework for psychiatric conditions. Psychiatrist Anand Kumar, who served on the DSM Strategic Committee for two years, said this in an interview with Live Science.
From symptoms to biological factors
Currently, conditions such as major depressive disorder, eating disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder are defined primarily by clinical criteria. Specialists build a clinical picture based on patient interviews, medical history, questionnaires and observation of symptoms.
According to Kumar, one of the main areas of work on DSM-6 is the inclusion of biological factors in the diagnostic framework. This concerns not only potential biomarkers, but also biological pathways and mechanisms associated with the development of certain mental disorders for which there is not yet a separate laboratory test.
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Genetics and immune mechanisms
As an example, Kumar cited immunological mechanisms. According to him, inflammation or immune system dysfunction may be important in approximately 30% of cases of major depression. At the same time, there is no single laboratory test in clinical practice for diagnosing depression associated with such mechanisms.
The psychiatrist also described genetics as an important area. For depression, schizophrenia and anxiety disorders, there is no single gene or small group of genes that can establish a diagnosis. Instead, hundreds of genes may slightly increase the risk of these conditions. The committee is discussing how to account for such data in diagnostic categories.
Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers
In the field of Alzheimer’s disease, Kumar said, there are already clearer biomarkers: blood tests for tau and amyloid proteins, which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA, has approved as biomarkers of the disease. There is not yet similar precision in other areas of psychiatry: in particular, there are no clear diagnostic blood tests or brain scans for depression, PTSD or schizophrenia.
