Platelet glutamate receptors as a window into psychiatric disorders

3. Conclusion: Much research remains to be done. The state trait nature of the marker needs to be elucidated. It would be illuminating to know if the marker settled with improvement in clinical condition. Treatment specificity with regard to the marker would also be interesting. It would be illuminating to know if the marker had any predictive value in terms of treatment. More research in a wider range of psychiatric illnesses would be interesting. It is also necessary to look at studies to correlate the peripheral marker with central markers to validate the use of peripheral markers. It is hoped that platelet intracellular second messenger responses to glutamate will reflect the pathogenesis of the disease processes. Further development of these accessible and practical markers may allow for a better understanding of these disorders, and may guide in the rational development of treatments of these conditions.