Antidepressants and Suicide: Biologic Marker?

Once in a while a single research study really advances our field. I think it just happened again.

Psychiatry is making major advances in terms of understanding the genetic, molecular, and brain-structure basis of some of the illness is that we treat. Frankly, this is the best field and medicine to be in right now -- at least in terms of watching good science happen. (It might be one of the worst in terms of how badly our current health care system is treating people with mental illnesses).

In any case, here is an interesting new result. The study was made possible as part of a huge study of depression in the United States (funded by our taxpayer dollars, one of the best uses I can think of -- in some ways this was like the Hubble telescope of mood disorder research).

The bottom line: even though many psychiatrists have criticized the FDA for placing a warning label on antidepressants about their potential for inducing suicidal thinking; and even though some evidence has emerged suggesting that the warning may have increased suicide rates by decreasing antidepressant use (this is still quite controversial); it would be nice to know if antidepressants really cause suicidality at all, even if rarely. This new study provides further evidence that indeed such a phenomenon occurs, as a result of the antidepressants.

But the study goes one step further: it identifies two genes which seemed to be associated with this new onset of suicidal thinking when an antidepressant is used (interestingly, the genes are not associated with suicidal thinking itself, which none of the patients in the study had before they received the antidepressant).

For more, see my Antidepressants and Suicide webpage.
Dr. Phelps