Going on antidepressants can give many people their life back, but for some there is a catch. About 25% to 80% of people who take antidepressants experience sexual side effects to some degree during treatment.

Now, a tool may one day help patients both feel better and keep their sex life intact, early research suggests.

Even though cases of antidepressant-induced sexual dysfunction have been documented since 1960, there has never been a way to predict the odds of problems with libido, arousal, orgasm, erectile function or other sexual functions before someone starts taking an antidepressant.

That uncertainty eventually may change with the new use of a brain test that indirectly measures levels of the critical neurotransmitter serotonin — which is involved in libido, arousal, mood, appetite, sleep, memory and social behavior.

The novel application of the existing test is described in preliminary, first-of-its-kind research to be presented Tuesday at the 38th ECNP (European College of Neuropsychopharmacology) Congress in Amsterdam. The research is currently an abstract, so it’s still under peer review before it will be published in a journal.

If the findings are replicated in studies with more participants, they “could enable a more precise approach to depression treatment,” lead researcher Dr. Kristian Jensen said in a news release.

Such testing could help doctors select medications to minimize risk of sexual side effects in patients most likely to experience them, said Jensen, a physician and post