Blood test may indicate suicidal propensity

A simple blood test could one day determine a person's propensity to commit suicide, according to scientists who found a genetic indicator of the brain's vulnerability to the effects of stress and anxiety.

Johns Hopkins University scientists have studied how some chemicals, methyl, act on the SKA2 gene, which plays a key role in suppressing the effects of stress hormones.

According to scientists, if the functioning of this gene is affected by a chemical change, the brain is unable to cope with the effects of hormones secreted by stress and anxiety, which could lead to suicide.

The scientists, whose work was published Wednesday in the American Journal of Psychiatry, studied samples of 150 brains, including those from mentally healthy people and those suffering from mental illness, some of whom had committed suicide.

They found that those who had committed suicide had very high levels of chemicals that alter the SKA2 gene, preventing them from diminishing or eliminating the effects of stress hormones.

They then performed blood tests on more than 325 participants in their study to see if they could identify the brains that had the highest risk of suicide using the same biomarker.

The results showed that it is possible to accurately determine between 80% and 90% if a person had suicidal thoughts or was trying to take his or her life just by examining the SKA2 gene, taking into account age, gender and stress levels. anxiety.

This type of blood test will not be available for at least five years and may take up to ten years to complete, said Dr. Zachary Kaminsky, an associate professor at Johns University and lead author of this research, quoted by CNN.

Via InAbstract