Scientists found the gene that raises suicide risk in depressed people

Scientists found the gene that raises suicide risk in depressed people

After a series of genetic tests on depressed people, who tried to take their own lives, the scientists succeeded in finding a gene that raises the tendency to commit suicide in those people.
The discovery of this particular DNA marker will be a tremendous help for the doctors to spot patients who are at risk of suicide.

The suicidal gene variant was found more commonly in those depressed people who had attempted suicide than in those who had not. The study if this gene suggested that it marks out those
people who are susceptible to take their lives whenever they become depressed. The gene, like several other DNA markers, might be used to point out people with serious depression and identify those who need a special supervision during their treatment.

Speaking to the media about the discovery, chief neuroscientist at the New York State Psychiatric Institute, John Mann spoke to Guardian, “If we knew who had an enhanced risk of suicide,
we could change our approach to their care. We could warn the family and ask them to be extra vigilant, we could send reminders to people to repeat their prescription, and tell the patient the importance of sticking with their treatment.”

Mann told that 43% of the depressed patients, who tried to take their lives, had two copies of a particular variant of the RGS2 gene. On the other hand, fewer than a fifth of them had
two copies of a "safer" variant of the gene.

He added, “It will be a panel of genes that will contribute to this, and if we can identify those genes, that panel could be used as a screening tool to predict the risk of suicidal behaviour
in depressed patients  People with depression account for most suicides, but most people with depression never make a suicide attempt. There is a vulnerability for suicidal behaviour in some individuals and it is uncovered by the development of depression.”

Some previous studies on twins and adopted people reveal that the genetic factors are the reason of about half a person’s tendency of suicide. The tragic series of deaths by suicide in
families, like those of Ernest Hemingway’s and Kurt Cobain’s, can be explained by the heritability of suicidal tendencies.

Hemingway’s father committed suicide in 1928. In the spring of 1961, Hemingway himself tried to kill himself but succeeded in the summer of the same year. After him, two of his siblings
and his granddaughter also took their lives.

In Cobain’s family, two of his uncles committed suicide. Cobain said he felt he had inherited "suicidal genes" before he took his life in 1994.

Dr Mann tested 412 Caucasians with depression, 154 of whom had tried to suicide. The results showed that a variant of a gene called RGS2 appeared more often in those who tried to kill
themselves. The gene affects how strongly receptors in the body respond to chemicals released by nerve cells.

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Posted by Zeeshan Gohar on Nov 16 2011. Filed under Sci-Tech. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry