Genetic Link to Suicidal Tendencies Nailed Down

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But the propensity to attempt suicide may have its own genetic roots.

"In the research, the thought is that part of the risk for suicidal behavior comes from inheritance of a psychiatric disorder such as bipolar disorder or depression, but there may be another risk factor above and beyond that," Willour explained. "This study would be getting at that, the risk factor that goes across diagnoses. What makes you go from thinking to acting, because thinking is pretty common, but acting is less so."

For this study, Willour's team tested the entire genome of 417 members of 162 families with bipolar disorder and a history of attempted suicide. There are 20,000 to 25,000 genes in the genome.

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Participants with a history of both attempted suicide and bipolar disorder showed similarities in a certain area of the genome: DNA marker D2S1777, on a section of chromosome 2 referred to as 2p12.

According to Willour, there are about 170 genes in the candidate region, and researchers now need to sift through them to find a culprit gene or genes.

"What we'd really like to do is know who's at high risk and have drug companies come in and address drugs," Willour said. "It'd be nice to be able to tell ahead of time if you are at high risk and which would be the best medications for you to take."

More information

Learn more about suicide from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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