Panic Disorder Blood Test May Aid Treatment

Sept. 21, 2007 — -- Harriet Brown, 49, has struggled with panic disorder her entire life.

"I remember going out to lunch with colleagues," she said. "On one level I was fine. On another level, I was absolutely freaking out. I had sweaty palms. It was like play life. That's what it's been like for me, having to carry on when I feel horrible inside."

Although Brown began suffering from panic disorder at the age of 8, she was not diagnosed until she was in her early 20s.

"It was a huge relief to be diagnosed with something that had a name," she said. "Until my 20s, I thought I was crazy or that something was wrong with me. I went through a lot of it's all in your head stuff from doctors that really was not helpful."

Soon after her diagnosis, Brown relied mostly on therapy but now prefers medication.

"For me [panic disorder] is not about anything," Brown said."I spent time in therapy trying to figure out what it was. I understood a lot of things about my family, but it didn't stop the panic attacks. For example, you can have PD crossing a bridge. You can think crossing the bridge is the problem, but it's not. I think it's a biological mechanism that goes haywire," she said.

Dr. Robert Philibert is developing a blood test that can help people like Brown who live with panic disorder.

The test, which measures the gene expression in lymphocytes in a person's blood, would enable doctors to determine whether a patient has the condition.

"Panic disorder will no longer be a purely descriptive diagnosis, but as with cystic fibrosis, Down syndrome and other conditions, a diagnosis based on genetic information," explained Philibert, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Iowa College of Medicine.

Philibert warned, however, that the test is only predictive and very costly.

"We're offering a test that won't be cheap by any standards -- anywhere between $200 to $1,000 to the patient or insurance companies," he said. "The ideal person for the test is someone for whom a difference in the course of treatment is worth the cost of the test."