Beyond One-Size-Fits-All: Precision Psychiatry Is Here

The field of psychiatry is experiencing a transformative shift toward precision medicine, a paradigm that tailors treatment to the unique characteristics of individual patients. This approach echoes advances in fields like oncology and cardiology, where precision tools have already revolutionized patient care.
But what exactly is precision psychiatry? How does it differ from traditional psychiatry? What will it look like in clinical practice? And are we there yet?
Beyond One-Size-Fits-All
The prevailing “one-size-fits-all” approach in psychiatry, which relies heavily on subjective symptom reporting, often proves ineffective due to the broad heterogeneity of diagnostic categories. This can lead to a “trial-and-error” cycle in treatment, which is time-consuming, costly, and frustrating for both doctors and patients.
In contrast, precision psychiatry has the potential to identify subtypes of psychiatric disorders and tailor treatments using measurable, objective data.
“The data supporting the use of precision psychiatry are very promising, particularly for treatment-resistant depression (MDD),” said Leanne Williams, PhD, professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University, Stanford, and director of the Stanford Center for Precision Mental Health and Wellness, Palo Alto, California, in an interview with Medscape Medical News.
Using functional MRI (fMRI), Williams and her team have mapped and measured patients’ brain circuitry to identify eight “biotypes” of depression that reflect combinations of dysfunction in six different circuits of the brain.
They are using these biotypes to guide treatment decisions in the clinic, matching individual patients to more targeted and effective therapies.
“We’re offering functional MRI to directly assess brain function along with other measures, so precision psychiatry is happening, and it’s really wanted by patients and their families. And the data suggest that we can double the rate of good outcomes,” said Williams.
“Neuroimaging techniques, particularly fMRI, have revolutionized our ability to map and quantify circuit abnormalities. Neural circuit measurements potentially offer the most direct window into the neural bases of psychiatric symptoms and, crucially, their modulation by treatment,” Teddy Akiki, MD, clinical scholar, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford, California, who works with Williams, told Medscape Medical News.
Blood-based biomarkers can complement brain imaging by providing additional information to better target treatment, help predict side effects, and guide dosage adjustments.
Precision Tools
A team led by Alexander B. Niculescu, III, MD, PhD, has found that a panel of blood-based biomarkers can distinguish between depression and bipolar disorder, predict a person’s future risk for these disorders, and inform more tailored medication choices.
Niculescu is currently a professor of psychiatry and medical neuroscience at the Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis. He will head West next month to direct the newly created Center for Precision Psychiatry at the University of Arizona College of Medicine — Phoenix.
MindX Sciences, the start-up company Niculescu cofounded, has been providing blood biomarker reports to “early adopting” doctors and patients.
“We are in the process of collecting and writing up the outcome data on the first 100 cases. The feedback we have received so far from the doctors and patients who have used it, as well as biopharma companies who have used it, has been very positive,” Niculescu told Medscape Medical News.
Another benefit of precision psychiatry lies in its potential to significantly accelerate drug development.
“By identifying specific neural circuits involved in subtypes of psychiatric conditions, we can repurpose or develop drugs that target these circuits more precisely. This approach allows for smaller, more focused trials with potentially higher success rates, which could speed up the typically slow and costly process of psychiatric drug development,” said Akiki.
Niculescu agreed. With precision psychiatry tools, “psychiatric drug development will become faster, cheaper, and more successful with the use of biomarkers and other precision tools,” he said.
The Future Is Already Here
The implementation and widespread adoption of precision psychiatry have several challenges.
It requires sophisticated technology and expertise, which may not be readily available in all clinical settings. Moreover, while evidence supports its use in conditions like major depression, there are fewer data on its efficacy in other psychiatric disorders, like schizophrenia.
Williams said future research should focus on expanding the evidence base for precision psychiatry across a broader range of psychiatric conditions.
Efforts to make precision tools more accessible and scalable, such as developing portable imaging technologies or more readily available biomarker tests, are also critical.
Integrating these precision tools into routine psychiatric practice will also require training and education for clinicians, as well as cost-effective solutions to make these approaches widely available.
“Mental health clinicians throughout the country are starting to employ semi-objective and objective measures in their practices, particularly self-report symptom questionnaires and pharmacogenomic assessment,” Laura Hack, MD, PhD, assistant professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, told Medscape Medical News.
“For precision psychiatry measures to be widely implemented, it is essential to demonstrate their reliability, clinical validity, clinical utility, and cost-effectiveness. Additionally, there is a need to develop clinical guidelines for their use, ensure that measurement tools are accessible, and educate all relevant stakeholders,” said Hack.
Right now, functional neuroimaging is used “only on a very limited basis in current clinical psychiatric practice,” Hack noted.
“We are developing standardized systems that will require less specialized expertise in functional neuroimaging and can be readily integrated into routine clinical care,” Akiki added.
Quoting William Gibson, “The future [of precision psychiatry] is already here; it’s just not evenly distributed,” said Niculescu.
Williams has disclosed relationships with One Mind PsyberGuide, Laureate Institute for Brain Research, and Et Cere Inc. Niculescu is a cofounder of MindX Sciences and is listed as inventor on a patent application filed by Indiana University. Akiki and Hack had no relevant disclosures.
 
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