Citation

Mann JJ. Psychiatr. Danub. 2006; 18(Suppl 1): 79.

Affiliation

Columbia University, Department of Psychiatry, 1051 Riverside Drive, Box 42, 10032 New York, NY, USA. jjm@columbia.edu.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, Facultas Universitatis Studiorum Zagrabiensis - Danube Symposion of Psychiatry)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

16963991

Abstract

The observation that suicidal behaviour is determined genetically has implications for prevention and treatment. Research has proceeded to identify the genes, the biological intermediate phenotypes and the psychopathological traits and gene-environment interactions that explain how genes can affect the risk for suicidal behaviour. The implications for treatment, specifically, are that one may be able to modify the risk for suicidal behaviour by identifying the gene targets and their products and downstream effects and seeking new treatment targets. Other approaches involve identifying candidate genes that are indicators of the risk for suicidal behaviour to screen patients needing more intensive suicide prevention approaches. Some genes interact with the environment to increase susceptibility to suicidal behaviour. Genetic variants have been shown to predict responses to medications and may be extended to predict the response of at-risk individuals to psychotherapies or medication in terms of reduction of suicide risk. An overview will be provided of current genetic findings and their implications for identifying treatment targets and predicting treatment outcome in terms of suicide prevention.

Language: en