Scientists have discovered that a blood test can detect biomarkers of suicidal ideation – it contains compounds that can signal suicidal tendencies in people suffering from depression.
These data were obtained when research scientists at the University of California, San Diego, who discovered a link between cellular metabolism and depression. The results of their work published in the journal Translational Psychiatry.
Depressive disorder, scientists say, physically affects the entire body. Measuring markers of cellular metabolism has become an important approach to the study of mental illness and the development of innovative methods for their diagnosis, treatment and prevention. UC San Diego School of Medicine Professor of Medicine, Pediatrics and Pathology Dr. Robert Navio says:
“Mental illnesses such as depression have effects and actions far beyond the brain. Just a decade ago it was difficult to study how whole body chemistry affects our behavior and state of mind, but modern technologies such as metabolomics are helping us listen to the conversations of cells in their native language, that is, biochemistry.”
Most people suffering from depression experience relief through medication and psychotherapy. But for some, the disorder cannot be treated. Suicidal thoughts occur in the majority of patients with treatment-resistant depression, and 30% of them attempt suicide at least once in their lives.
In the study, researchers analyzed the blood of 99 participants who were diagnosed with treatment-resistant depression and suicidal ideation, and the same number of healthy people. Among hundreds of different biochemicals circulating in the blood of people with depression, five biomarkers were discovered. Navio explains:
“Among 100 people with depression, we can correctly identify 85-90% of those who are at greatest risk of suicidal ideation.”
The researchers found that the metabolites that signal suicidal ideation were mostly different between men and women, but some were the same in both sexes. These are, for example, biomarkers for mitochondrial dysfunction, which occurs when the energy-producing structures of cells don’t work, Navio says:
“Mitochondria are one of the most important structures in our cells, and changes in mitochondrial function occur in many human diseases.”
Mitochondria produce ATP, the primary energetic organic compound of all cells. ATP is also an important molecule for cell-to-cell communication, and researchers suggest that it is this function that is most dysregulated in people with suicidal ideation:
“When ATP is inside the cell, it acts as an energy source, but outside the cell it is a danger signal that activates dozens of protective pathways in response to a particular stress. We speculate that suicide attempts may indeed be part of a larger physiological impulse to stop the stress response , which has become unbearable at the cellular level.”
The study suggests a new approach to personalizing treatment for depression. It will help scientists create drugs that will be able to influence mitochondrial dysfunction. A co-author of the study explains:
“The results suggest we can work to nudge metabolism in the right direction and help patients respond better to treatment. In the context of suicide, this may be enough to prevent people from crossing that threshold.”
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