One day a simple blood test may be all that's needed to determine a human's tendencies for suicide.
Johns Hopkins researchers say new research has revealed a chemical alteration in a gene that could lead to a blood test for predicting a person's potential suicide risk.
The research, published online in The American Journal of Psychiatry, claims changes in a gene that is part of the brain's response to stress hormones may play a critical role in a person's response to what researchers say would otherwise be "an unremarkable reaction to the strain of everyday life," according to a release on the study.
"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 study leader Zachary Kaminsky, Ph.D., an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. "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."
In the study the research team targeted a genetic mutation in the SKA2 gene. They examined brain samples taken from mentally ill and also healthy people. Levels of SKA2 were significantly low in patients who had died from suicide. They also found higher levels of methylation in suicide patients, which may modify the way SKA2 gene functions. Methylation is involved in gene expression and is thought to have a role in the interaction of environmental factors with genetic expression.
The research also involved blood samples studies that found similar methylation in SKA2 with individuals who had suicidal thoughts or who had attempted suicide. According to the research release, "the SKA2 gene is expressed in the prefrontal cortex of the brain, which is involved in inhibiting negative thoughts and controlling impulsive behavior."
Kaminsky says the research could lead to a blood test for predicting future suicidal behavior in those mentally ill as part of a medical prevention strategy.
Doctors could use that test in a psychiatric emergency room as part of their assessment of a patient's suicide risk.
"We have found a gene that we think could be really important for consistently identifying a range of behaviors from suicidal thoughts to attempts to completions," Kaminsky says. "We need to study this in a larger sample, but we believe that we might be able to monitor the blood to identify those at risk of suicide."
Suicide action was also the focus of a recent research effort reported by Tech Times. New research at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis reveals smoking could boost the risk of individuals committing suicide.
