A group of researchers from John Hopkins University have identified a variation in a specific gene that occurs when a patient is contemplating suicide. Even more importantly, these scientists discovered that a blood test can detect this alteration, notifying doctors when a patient is having suicidal thoughts.
The researchers studied a genetic mutation in SKA2, a gene associated with how the brain handles stress. SKA2's job in the brain is to manage the release of cortisol, a hormone that helps a person to deal with stress in a healthy way. In suicidal brains, that gene is different, so the cortisol doesn't get released properly.
Scientists began their study by looking at samples of two kinds of brains: mentally ill and healthy. They found that the mentally ill brains had drastically less amounts of SKA2 than the brains of the healthy. They also discovered that there was a chemical difference in the brains of healthy humans as opposed to mentally ill individuals who committed suicide. The suicidal brains had significantly higher levels of certain chemicals. These chemicals alter the way SKA2 handles the stress hormones.
With this new knowledge, the researchers started working with blood samples. They found that patients who had experienced suicidal thoughts or attempted suicide had these same higher levels of chemicals within the SKA2 gene as well. They plugged this data into a computer model, which predicted suicidal thoughts with an 80 to 90 percent accuracy. However, when it came to identifying patients that had already attempted suicide, the computer model's results were the most accurate, at 96 percent.
Such a test could be administered to predict future suicide attempts in the mentally ill, allowing health care providers to make the right choices in their treatment. The test could also be used on soldiers returning home from military service. By allowing doctors to monitor their state of mind, perhaps some PTSD-related suicides could be prevented.
"Suicide is a major preventable public health problem, but we have been stymied in our prevention efforts because we have no consistent way to predict those who are at increased risk of killing themselves," says Zachary Kaminsky, Ph.D., the study's leader. "With a test like ours, we may be able to stem suicide rates by identifying those people and intervening early enough to head off a catastrophe."
Blood tests are commonplace but have become a fixture in cutting-edge research. Recently, scientists discovered a way to use blood tests to detect cancer. Perhaps in the future doctors will use blood tests for detection of both physical and mental ailments. But some pushback should be expected. Attempting to use empirical evidence to predict the inner workings of a person's mind will undoubtedly cause controversy and privacy concerns.
