The Biochemistry of Suicide

High Cholesterol, Triglycerides, and Body-mass Index in Suicide Attempters

Genetics and Suicide Prevention: two Routes to the Root of the Problem

~

A Theory of Suicide Addiction

The author found that in a study of 50 selected patients, there was an overwhelming presence of 7 characteristics of addiction as they apply directly to suicide, suggesting an addiction to suicidal fantasies & behaviours. Possible predisposition, neurochemistry, & progression of the illness are discussed. The author posits that mood alteration is the critical element […]

Platelet Serotonin Measures in Suicidal Elderly: Decreased Serotonin Transporter Binding Sites Differentiate Depressed Elderly From Normal Controls…

Published in “Back to the Future: Refocusing the Image of Suicide,” ed. by J L McIntosh

Temperamental Diagnostics and Biochemistry in Suicide Attempters

Published in “The Suicidal Process: Challenges for Treatment and Prevention”

CSF-5HIAA and the Dexamethasone Suppression Test in Relation to Suicidality and Clinical Outcome

Published in “The Suicidal Process: Challenges for Treatment and Prevention”

Vulnerability and Suicial Behaviour

Published in “The Suicidal Process: Challenges for Treatment and Prevention”

Relation of Serum Cholesterol, Lipid, Serotonin and Tryptophan Levels to Severity of Depression and to Suicide Attempts

Completed Suicide: an Update for the General Psychiatrist

Is There a Biology of Suicide?

Cerebrospinal Fluid Amines and Higher-lethality Suicide Attempts in Depressed Inpatients

The Biological and Genetic Dimensions of Suicide Risk

~

Decreased Catalytic Activity and Expression of Protein Kinase C Isozymes in Teenage Suicide Victims: a Postmortem Brain Study

This article examines whether the pathogenesis of teenage suicide is associated with changes in protein kinase C (PKC), using a postmortem brain study. The authors found that PKC activity was statistically significantly decreased in the brains of suicide victims compared with control subjects. Significant decreases in protein levels were found to be associated with decreases […]

Dysfunctional Attitudes and 5-HT2 Receptors During Depression and Self-Harm

~

Impulsivity: a Discussion of Clinical and Experimental Findings

~

Molecular Abnormalities in Brains of Depressed Patients

~

Human Serum Paraoxonase (PON1) Activity in Acute Organophosphorous Insecticide Poisonings

~

Suicide Risk in a Forensic Population in Relation to Platelet Monoamine Oxidase Activity and Impulsivity: Preliminary Observations

The authors review the findings of their study estimating suicide risk & impulse control in Greek violent offenders, comparing these variables to prison personnel, & determing the relation of these variables to their platelets monoamine oxidase activity.

Twin Studies of Genetic Factors and Suicide

The authors summarize a study that investigated the TPH-polymorphism in surviving monozygotic twins, whose twin siblings had committed suicide.

Suicide Influences and Factors: Biology and Genetics (IN: Macmillan Encyclopedia of Death and Dying, vol.2: L-Z, ed. by R Kastenbaum)

The author explores the long-debated possibility that biological & hereditary factors could contribute to suicidal behavior, & reviews significant research on the issue to date. (16 refs)

Lower CSF Homovanillic Acid Levels in Depressed Patients With a History of Alcoholism

~

Expression of the Myristoylated Alanine-Rich C Kinase Substrate (MARCKS) and MARCKS-Related Protein (MRP) in the Prefrontal Cortex and Hippocampus of Suicide Victims

The authors hypothesized that a dysregulation in MARCKS expression in key brain regions could contribute to the pathophysiology associated with suicide. To address this, they examined MARCKS & the closely related MARCKS-related protein (MRP) mRNA expression in the hippocampus & dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of suicide victims & normal controls. Neither MARCKS nor MRP mRNA expression […]