Amsterdam University Medical Centre and Radboudumc researchers have developed a new artificial intelligence algorithm that can predict the effectiveness of antidepressant medication for patients with severe depression within a week. Specifically, the algorithm analyzes blood flow from the prefrontal cortex to the brain and other relevant patient information, such as symptoms, in order to determine whether the patient is suitable for taking escitalopram, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). This is important as it can quickly identify patients who do not respond to the medication, potentially reducing unnecessary prescriptions. "This is good news for patients," said Liesbeth Reneman, Professor of Neuroradiology at Amsterdam University Medical Centre. "Typically, it takes 6 to 8 weeks to determine whether an antidepressant medication is effective." The research team hypothesized whether it was possible to predict the effectiveness of escitalopram. To conduct the study, 229 patients were given either escitalopram or a placebo. These patients underwent MRI scans before and after a week of treatment, and the researchers developed an algorithm to predict their response to escitalopram using this data. The resulting AI analysis indicated that only one-third of the patients would respond to escitalopram treatment. "With this approach, we can prevent two-thirds of 'incorrect' escitalopram prescriptions, thereby providing better quality care for patients. Because medications also have side effects," added Reneman. Eric Ruhé, a psychiatrist at Radboudumc, further explained, "The algorithm demonstrates that blood flow in the prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain involved in emotional regulation, can predict the effectiveness of the medication. Additionally, the severity of their symptoms measured in the second assessment after one week of treatment also showed additional predictive value." Note: The HTML tags have been retained as requested, but the style and class attributes have been removed.