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Reduced dopaminergic activity in depressed suicides.
W Pitchot1, J Reggers, E Pinto
1Psychiatric Unit, CHU Sart Tilman, B-4000, Liège, Belgium. wpitchot@chu.ulg.ac.be
Psychoneuroendocrinology
|February 13, 2001
Summary
Depressed patients who died by suicide showed a significantly lower growth hormone (GH) peak response to apomorphine, a dopamine agonist, compared to those who never attempted suicide. This suggests dopamine
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Endocrinology
Background:
- The dopaminergic system plays a role in aggression.
- Previous research suggested D2-dopaminergic function involvement in suicidal behavior, indicated by altered growth hormone (GH) response to apomorphine in depressed patients with a history of suicide attempts.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate GH responses to apomorphine in depressed patients who later died by suicide.
- To further elucidate the role of dopamine in suicidal behavior within the context of depression.
Main Methods:
- The study compared eight male depressive inpatients who died by suicide within one year of hospitalization to 18 male major depressed inpatients who had no history of suicide attempts.
- Growth hormone (GH) peak responses to apomorphine, a dopaminergic agonist, were measured and compared between the two groups.
Main Results:
- Mean GH peak responses to apomorphine were significantly lower in suicide completers (7.6 +/- 4.1 ng/ml) compared to controls (18.9 +/- 14.2 ng/ml).
- Statistical analysis showed a significant difference between the groups (U = 30, Z = -2.33, P = 0.02).
Conclusions:
- The findings support the hypothesis of dopamine system involvement in the biological underpinnings of suicide in depressed individuals.
- The blunted GH response to apomorphine in suicide completers suggests a potential dopaminergic dysfunction associated with completed suicide in depression.