Dissecting major depression: The role of blood biomarkers and adverse childhood experiences in distinguishing clinical subgroups
Background: The syndromic diagnosis of major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with individual differences in prognosis, course, treatment response, and outcome. There is evidence that patients with a history to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) may belong to a distinct clinical subgroup. The combination of data on ACEs and blood biomarkers could allow the identification of diagnostic MDD subgroups. Methods: We selected several blood markers (global DNA methylation, and VEGF-a, TOLLIP, SIRT1, miR-34a genes) among factors that contribute to the pathogenetic mechanisms of MDD.