Brains of individuals with PTSD and suicidal thoughts (top) show higher levels of mGluR5 compared to healthy controls (bottom).
The risk of suicide among individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is much higher than the general population, but identifying those individuals at greatest risk has been difficult. However, a team at Yale has discovered a biological marker linked to individuals with PTSD who are most likely to think about suicide, the researchers report May 13 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Researchers used PET imaging to measure levels of metabotropic glutamatergic receptor 5 (mGluR5) — which has been implicated in anxiety and mood disorders — in individuals with PTSD and major depressive disorder. They found high levels of mGluR5 in the PTSD group with current suicidal thoughts. They found no such elevated levels in the PTSD group with no suicidal thoughts or in those with depression, with or without current suicidal thoughts.
There are two FDA approved treatments for PTSD, both of which are anti-depressants. It can take weeks or months to determine whether they are effective. That can be too late for those who are suicidal, note the researchers.
“If you have people who suffer from high blood pressure, you want to reduce those levels right away,” said Irina Esterlis, associate professor of psychiatry at Yale and senior author of the study. “We don’t have that option with PTSD.”
Esterlis said testing for levels of mGluR5 in people who have experienced severe trauma might help identify those at greatest risk of harming themselves and prompt psychiatric interventions. Also, researchers might investigate ways to regulate levels mGluR5 with hopes of minimizing suicide risk in PTSD patients, she said.
Learn more: Biomarker reveals PTSD sufferers at risk of suicide
The Latest on: PTSD
via Google News
The Latest on: PTSD
- FKA twigs ‘left with PTSD’ after Shia LeBeouf allegedly abused her and ‘banned her from looking at other men’on January 25, 2021 at 9:38 am
FKA twigs alleges Shia LeBeouf abused her and left her with PTSD, opening up about the ordeal on Louis Theroux's Grounded podcast.
- FKA Twigs says she was 'left with PTSD' after dating Shia LaBeoufon January 25, 2021 at 9:05 am
Singer FKA Twigs has said she was left with PTSD after splitting from actor Shia LaBeouf in 2019. The musician, real name Tahliah Debrett Barnett, is suing LaBeouf for physical, mental and emotional ...
- FKA Twigs 'left with PTSD' by Shia LaBeoufon January 25, 2021 at 5:46 am
Singer FKA Twigs has said she was left with PTSD after splitting from actor Shia LaBeouf in 2019.The musician, real name Tahliah Debrett Barnett, is suing LaBeouf for physical, mental and emotional ...
- ‘A lot of us are going to have PTSD.’ Fatigue, burnout, exhaustion plague hospital staffs during COVID surgeon January 22, 2021 at 1:01 pm
As the coronavirus case count soars across Southern California, medical workers say “the misery, the pain and the anguish” they deal with daily is taking a heavy toll.
- PTSD link to pandemic fearson January 22, 2021 at 10:23 am
A new study of 1040 online participants from five western countries explores people's response to the stresses of the escalating pandemic, finding more than 13 percent of the sample had post-traumatic ...
- PTSD, Opiates, Cannabis, And The Journey Towards Recoveryon January 21, 2021 at 3:47 pm
The high rate of cannabis use for chronic pain and the subsequent reductions in opioid use suggest that cannabis may play a harm reduction role in the opioid overdose crisis.
- Jenny Roseman and Philip Smith of Freshly Baked want to help fellow veterans with PTSD and the community through cannabis deliveryon January 19, 2021 at 3:36 am
Jenny Roseman and Philip Smith first imagined running a small cannabis operation, just the two of them making THC-infused gummies. The vision has evolved into something much larger, as the co-founders ...
- Repeated Ketamine Infusions Linked to Rapid Relief of PTSDon January 18, 2021 at 11:22 am
In what investigators call the first randomized controlled trial of repeated ketamine infusion for chronic PTSD, the treatment was associated with significant symptom reduction after 2 weeks.
- I Have Medical PTSD From My Chronic Illness—Here's What I Want You to Knowon January 14, 2021 at 4:15 pm
Writer Tessa Miller was diagnosed with Crohn's disease in 2012, and after nearly a decade of hospitalizations, medications, and intrusive scans and tests, her disease was under control. But recently, ...
- Why PTSD May Plague Many Hospitalized Covid-19 Survivorson January 12, 2021 at 9:11 am
Scientists warn about the likelihood of post-traumatic stress disorder for patients discharged from the intensive care unit ...
via Bing News
 is much higher than the general population, but identifying those individuals a){kind=link}