Resource Tag: BIOCHEMISTRY

This study examined the statistical relation between platelet serotonin concentration & serum cortisol concentration in a group of patients with posttraumatic stress disorder, with & without attempted suicide, treated in hospital in Zagreb. Results showed significantly lower platelet serotonin concentration in the patients, with & without suicidal behaviour, as compared to healthy controls. There were […]

5 peripheral serotonergic markers were assessed simultaneously. Of 60 acutely suicidal inpatients, 45 were suicide attempters. 28 nonsuicidal patients with major depression & 123 healthy volunteers served as control groups. Mean platelet 5HT concentration was significantly lower in suicidal inpatients when compared to nonsuicidal depressed patients, but did not differ from the figure in healthy […]

Relationships between the serotonin transporter promoter polymorphism, platelet serotonin transporter binding, & clinical phenotype were examined in 32 suicidal & 28 nonsuicidal Ashkenazi Israeli adolescent psychiatric inpatients. The serotonin transporter promoter polymorphism was not associated with transporter binding or with suicidality or other clinical phenotypes. However, in the suicidal group, a significant positive correlation between […]

The authors recruited 100 individuals who had attempted suicide & 100 control patients injured by accidents. Cases & controls were matched for age, gender, & smoking status. Blood was sampled immediately after admission to hospital. Washed red blood cells were obtained & the fatty acid composition of the total red blood cells phospholipid fraction was […]

The authors hypothesized that the dysregulation of the renin-angiotensin system was involved in suicide, & examined the association between completed suicide & 4 functional polymorphisms in renin-angiotensin-related genes. The I allele of the angiotensin-converting enzyme I/D polymorphism was found to be more frequent in suicide victims than controls. The I allele was also found to […]

Evidence is mounting that genetic factors may be included in the many determinants of suicide. Clinical studies of psychiatric patients have suggested that risk of suicidal behaviour is increased by the presence of family history of suicidality, a claim that is also supported by findings of twin & adoption studies. In addition, molecular genetic studies […]

While suicidal behaviour & non-suicidal self-injury are distinct behaviours, non-suicidal self-injury is a significant risk factor for suicide attempts & suicide. The high co-occurrence of these two behaviours suggests that they may share a common biology. Available data indicate that endogenous opioids may be involved in the pathophysiology of suicidal behaviour. Future studies of the […]

This study assessed the usefulness of transcranial sonography recording in a group of 17 patients with major depressive disorder & 14 patients with major depressive disorder who also reported suicide ideation. 40 healthy controls were included in the study. Reduced raphe echogenicity was found in 8 of 17 patients with major depressive disorder but only […]

Clinical characteristics, outcome, & risk factors for cerebrovascular disease were studied in Japanese patients with major depressive disorder & white matter hyperintensity. 123 patients were placed into 1 of 3 groups after undergoing magnetic resonance imaging: patients with no abnormal findings; patients with white matter hyperintensity & no lacunar infarction; & patients with lacunar infarction. […]

3H-imipramine binding in relation to serotonergic function was studied in patients hospitalized following a suicide attempt. Comparison with a control group showed a highly significant difference in Bmax values. The results suggest, at least a posteriori, a biological alteration as the basis of suicidal behaviour. Although it is impossible to attribute a suicide attempt to […]

This study investigated stressful life events & biological stress markers among former psychiatric inpatients who were followed up 12 years after an index suicide attempt. At the time of the index attempt, & before treatment, cerebrospinal fluid samples were taken & urine was collected. Data concerning stressful life events were collected retrospectively from all participants […]

This postmortem study determined numbers of noradrenergic neurons by immunostaining the synthesizing enzyme tyrosine hydroxylase in the locus coeruleus of 12 non-elderly depressed patients with a mood disorder as compared to 12 matched normal controls. 6 patients died by suicide, 6 from natural causes. Non-suicidal patients had fewer neurons immunoreactive for tyrosine hydroxylase than suicide […]

The density of 5-HT1A binding using 3H-8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propyl-amino) tetralin as binding ligand was studied in human frontal cortex of suicide victims & normal controls who died due to medical disease or accidents. There was no difference in the maximum number of binding site (Bmax) or Kd (an inverse measure of affinity) of 5-HT1A receptor binding sites […]

In this post-mortem study, the binding of the ligand 3HWIN 35,428 to dopamine uptake sites in the caudate nucleus was investigated in 13 depressed suicide victims & 19 controls. The were no differences in Bmax or Kd between the suicide group & controls. Subdividing the suicide group into subgroups regarding the presence of major depression, […]

This study compared opioid receptor binding kinetics in postmortem brains of 9 young suicide victims & 10 matched controls in 2 brain areas, the prefrontal cortex & the pre-post central gyri. Binding indices did not differ between suicide victims & controls in either brain area & did not correlate with age. Prefrontal cortex Bmax was […]

This study used 3Hdizocilpine (MK-801) binding to the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor to examine glycine, redox, & zinc modulatory sites in membranes derived from the frontal & parietal cortex of 8 control subjects & 6 suicide victims. 3Hdizocilpine binding in the presence of glutamate & glutamate plus glycine was similar in both groups. The sulphydryl redox […]

Binding kinetics were assayed in prefrontrol & temporal cortex in matched pairs of suicide victims & controls using the selective ligand 3H-paroxetine & employing 1muM sertraline to define specific binding to the transporter & 10muM sertraline which also displaces binding to the high affinity, nontransporter site. The total number of 3H-paroxetine transporter & nontransporter binding […]

The authors report the first study of serotonin 5-HT3 receptors in the brain of suicide victims. There were no differences in the number (Bmax) or affinity (Kd) of 5-HT3 receptors in the temporal cortex of suicide victims compared to matched controls. There was a negative correlation between brain serotonin levels & receptor number in both […]

Specific binding of 3Himipramine & 3Hparoxetine was simultaneously examined in human brains from 11 controls & 11 depressed suicide victims. A single saturable high affinity site was obtained for both radioligands. Age was not related to significant changes in either binding parameter, indicating stability in the brain serotonergic system with increasing age. A significant decrease […]

In this study, whole brain binding potential of the serotonin transporter & dopamine transporter was measured by a single photon emission computerised tomography in 12 patients after a serious suicide attempt & in 12 matched healthy controls. No significant serotonin transporter or dopamine transporter differences between patients & controls were found. In patients, but not […]

Orexin-A was measured in the cerebrospinal fluid of 66 patients with major depressive disorder, dysthymia, & adjustment disorder after a suicide attempt. Cerebrospinal fluid levels of orexin-A were significantly lower in patients with major depressive disorder than in patients with adjustment disorder & dysthymia. Results suggest suicidal patients with major depressive disorders have distinct neurobiological […]

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The objective of this study was to examine if changes in protein kinase A activity or in the protein & messenger RNA expression of any of its subunits are related to the pathophysiology of teenage suicide. The sample included 17 suicide victims & 17 nonpsychiatric control subjects. Protein kinase A activity was significantly decreased in […]