Brain scans may soon detect suicidal intent

Researchers at Yale University, USA believe, advanced tomography and the receptor they are looking for will help early detection of those who intend to commit suicide.

Thoughts are a form of information that exists in the brain and one's own. That is why it is difficult to recognize anyone's suicidal intention until they have suspicious actions. Especially for people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) even more dangerous. They are at high risk of thinking about suicidal intentions due to severe psychological injuries.

However, according to the latest study by scientists at Yale University in the US, determining the level of activity of a receptor in the brain through brain scans can help detect the idea early. suicide of a person.

According to Newatlas , the study investigated the level of activity of the metabotropic glutamate receptor type 5 receptor (mGluR5) . Previous research has shown that this abnormal or excessive activity leads to a series of mood disorders. So scientists decided to delve into whether mGluR5 plays a role in suicidal ideation.

Using advanced positron emission tomography (PET) scans in medicine, researchers have determined the level of activity of mGluR5 in people with PTSD or depressive disorder (MDD) and healthy group.

The receptor of mGluR5 is highly active in people who intend to commit suicide and have PTSD.(brain image on the top).

Interestingly, the level of activity of mGluR5 was markedly higher in subjects with PTSD compared with MDD or completely healthy subjects. The finding shows that the concentration of mGluR5 is 24% higher than other groups.

Most importantly, the subjects with PTSD who have suicidal thoughts also show that the activity level of mGluR5 is many times higher than those with PTSD but do not intend to commit suicide. Strangely, the study found no increased activity of mGluR5 in MDD-infected subjects with suicidal intention.

From the findings, the team believes that mGluR5 is the "biomarker" that signals the risk of suicide in a person, especially those who have experienced a shock or post-traumatic stress disorder. love.

Research leader Irina Esterlis hopes that the finding will help doctors easily identify the manifestations of patients who want to commit suicide to promptly intervene. Even in the future, Irina hopes to create a suicidal anti-thinking drug by inhibiting the mGluR5 receptor.

According to statistics in the UK, nearly 6,000 people commit suicide each year and men have three times higher suicide rates. Even in an attempt to fight suicide in October 2018, British Prime Minister Theresa May appointed the first minister to prevent suicide. According to the National Statistical Office, this rate is decreasing and now only 10.1 people die over 100,000 people.

The study was published in the recent PNAS journal.