News Article

We have discovered suicide's genetic key.  "Canadian researchers may have discovered the underlying cause that leads some people to commit suicide or suffer major depression, a finding that could revolutionize how mental disorders are treated." The study describes chemical modifications in the brains of people who commit suicide as a result of major depression.  Researchers found that a gene that played a major role in controlling anxiety and stress was shut down in the cells of these brains.

John H. Krystal, M.D., Editor of Biological Psychiatry, comments, "This is exciting new evidence that genetic and environmental factors may interact to produce specific and long-lasting modifications in brain circuits. Further, these modifications may shape the course of one's life in extremely important ways, including increasing the risk for major depressive disorder and perhaps suicide."

The authors of the study say that this discovery may lead to major breakthroughs and a revolution in the treatment for mental disorders.  This will open an entirely new avenue of research and potential for therapeutic interventions.

"If we can give a drug that provides this long-term relief, I think we're on to something much more effective and perhaps at the root of the illness," said Dr. Poulter, lead researcher and professor in the physiology and pharmacology department at the University of Western Ontario. "There might be a whole new class of antidepressant drugs out there within a few years."

There is major potential here in the emerging field of epigenetics that examines how genes are turned on and off.  This research offers great hope for better mental health treatments and suicide prevention.  You can tell that the researchers are excited about these new discoveries.  We have to make sure that we support their efforts.  For some of us it may be a matter of life and death.