Citation

Sarchiapone M, Carli V, Roy A, Iacoviello L, Cuomo C, Latella MC, di Giannantonio M, Janiri L, de Gaetano M, Janal MN. Neuropsychobiology 2008; 57(3): 139-145.

Affiliation

Department of Health Sciences, University of Molise, Campobasso, Italy. marco.sarchiapone@gmail.com

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, Karger Publishers)

DOI

10.1159/000142361

PMID

18600033

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Recent post-mortem studies of suicide victims have implicated brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in suicide. Therefore, it was decided to examine the possible role of a gene in the regulation of BDNF activity in relation to suicidal behaviour among depressed patients. METHOD: A series of 170 depressed patients were evaluated for their history of suicide attempts and genotyped for the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism (SNP ID: rs6265). Depressed patients who had (n = 97) or had not (n = 73) attempted suicide were compared. RESULTS: Depressed patients who carried the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism variant (GA + AA) appeared to show a significantly increased risk of suicidal behaviour. The risk of a suicide attempt was also significantly higher among those reporting higher levels of childhood emotional, physical and sexual abuse. Secondary analyses suggested that depression severity was a significant risk factor only in the wild-type BDNF genotype, and that the risk of suicide attempts was more predictable within the wild-type group. CONCLUSION: These preliminary data suggest that BDNF may play a role in the suicidal behaviour of depressed patients.

Language: en