Depression Research: Blood and Urine Tests Find 5 Distinct Types of Depression

Terezia Farkas. CNN. HuffPost. International Best-selling Author. Writes about dealing with depression. 

I’m sharing part of this article from HealthlineNews (www.healthline.com). It’s interesting that there may be multiple types of depression. 


William J. Walsh, President of the Walsh Research Institute,  is the researcher who identified these 5 types of depression using urine and blood tests. Most psychiatrists believe that depression is caused by low levels of serotonin. Yet three of these forms of depression aren’t caused by fluctuating serotonin levels. 

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By Kristen Fischer, May 8, 2014 in HealthlineNews

William J. Walsh, President of the Walsh Research Institute,  is the researcher who identified these 5 types of depression using urine and blood tests. Most psychiatrists believe that depression is caused by low levels of serotonin. Yet three of these forms of depression aren’t caused by fluctuating serotonin levels. 

5 Biotypes of Depression

The five defined depression biotypes are:

1. Undermethylated Depression

This type of depression was found in 38 percent of patients in the study. The problem in these cases is low activity at serotonin receptors, apparently due to rapid reabsorbtion after serotonin is released into a synapse. 

“It’s not serotonin deficiency, but an inability to keep serotonin in the synapse long enough. Most of these patients report excellent response to SSRI antidepressants, although they may experience nasty side effects,” Walsh said.

2. Pyrrole Depression

This type was found in 17 percent of the patients studied, and most of these patients also said that SSRI antidepressants helped them. These patients exhibited a combination of impaired serotonin production and extreme oxidative stress.

3. Copper Overload

Accounting for 15 percent of cases in the study, these patients cannot properly metabolize metals. Most of these people say that SSRIs do not have much of an effect—positive or negative—on them, but they report benefits from normalizing their copper levels through nutrient therapy. Most of these patients are women who are also estrogen intolerant. 

“For them, it’s not a serotonin issue, but extreme blood and brain levels of copper that result in dopamine deficiency and norepinephrine overload,” Walsh explained. “This may be the primary cause of postpartum depression.”

4. Low-Folate Depression

These patients account for 20 percent of the cases studied, and many of them say that SSRIs worsened their symptoms, while folic acid and vitamin B12 supplements helped. Benzodiazepine medications may also help people with low-folate depression.

Walsh said that a study of 50 school shootings over the past five decades showed that most shooters probably had this type of depression, as SSRIs can cause suicidal or homicidal ideation in these patients.

5. Toxic Depression 

This type of depression is caused by toxic-metal overload—usually lead poisoning. Over the years, this type accounted for 5 percent of depressed patients, but removing lead from gasoline and paint has lowered the frequency of these cases.

“We are not the first to suggest that there may be other causes of depression, but we might be the first to identify the other forms of depression, and the first to suggest blood testing to guide the treatment approach,” Walsh said.


Terezia Farkas. International Bestselling Author, Huffington Post/ CNN contributor, columnist of Depression Help. Focus is mental health. Her bestseller Heart of Love Evolution – Surviving Depression is available on Amazon. Website:  www.tereziafarkas.com Follow on  Twitter.