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Six proteins have been located as "potential biomarkers" for bipolar disorder by scientists at the Mayo Clinic  The proteins can help in the diagnosis and treatment of the illness., according to HNGN.

At present, there are no biomarkers for bipolar disorder and related mood disorders. Usually, psychiatrists try to locate and diagnose symptoms, and talk to patients in order to assess their illness, against a number of diagnostic criteria.

However, the treatment and medications keep varying, so all the available drugs may not be suited to the existing disorders.

"The potential of having a biological test to help accurately diagnose bipolar disorder would make a huge difference to medical practice," Dr. Mark Frye, lead study author and head of psychiatry at Mayo Clinic, said in a news release. "It would then help clinicians to choose the most appropriate treatment for hard-to-diagnose individuals."

A feasibility study was conducted, involving 288 study participants, of which "46 had been diagnosed with bipolar I depression, 49 with bipolar II depression and 52 with unipolar depression, while 141 did not have any mood disorder and served as controls," according to HNGN.

In their blood samples, about 272 proteins were investigated, of which 73 were different. Still, six proteins from patients with bipolar I disorder stood out.

Researchers pointed out that this is the first study that has been conducted "to assess the feasibility of high throughput multiplexed immunoassay technology (272 proteins) trying to distinguish different types of mood disorders."

The six potential biomarkers are required to be validated by replicating the study with bigger sample sizes, which would clearly show if the proteins are really associated with bipolar I disorder or not.

The study was published in the Dec. 8 issue of the journal Translational Psychiatry.