A blood-pressure protein may flag the psychosis that standard treatment misses

Psychosis is usually judged by symptoms alone, so doctors can wait months to learn whether standard treatment is working. In a preliminary Johns Hopkins study of 200 people, a familiar protein best known for controlling blood pressure — called ACE — was much lower in the blood of people whose psychosis resisted treatment, and blood levels matched levels in spinal fluid. If larger studies confirm it, a simple blood test could one day help doctors spot resistance sooner and choose a different approach earlier.