Citation

Little KY, Clark TB, Ranc J, Duncan GE. Biol. Psychiatry 1993; 34(9): 596-605.

Affiliation

Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1993, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

8292688

Abstract

Beta-adrenergic binding in frontal cortex samples from suicide victims has been reported to be increased, unaltered, and decreased compared to matched controls. Subject's diagnoses and drug exposures in these studies were not equivalently documented and were possibly different. In the present study, diagnostic and symptomatic information was systematically collected from family members of 15 subjects committing suicide and 15 matched controls using standardized interview techniques. The goal was to test the hypothesis that alterations in beta-adrenergic binding were more likely to be found in subjects with evidence of depressive disorders. 125I.pindolol binding in frontal cortex was found to be significantly lower in the group committing suicide compared to the matched controls (21.1 +/- 1.1 fmol/mg protein vs. 24.8 +/- 0.8 fmol/mg protein, p < .02). However, no diagnostic subgroup among the suicide victims appeared distinct.

Language: en