[en] Several lines of evidence suggest a role for dopamine in the control of suicidal behaviour. Previously, we suggested an involvement of D2-dopaminergic function in the biology of suicide by demonstrating a smaller growth hormone (GH) response to apomorphine, a dopaminergic agonist, in depressed patients who later died by suicide. The purpose of the present study was to assess GH response to apomorphine in major depressed in-patients with a history of highly lethal suicide attempt compared to depressed patients with a low lethal lifetime suicide attempt history and non-attempters. The study was performed in a sample of 26 male depressed in-patients with a history of suicide attempt compared to 26 male depressed non-attempters. We observed a significant difference between suicide attempters and non-attempters (for GH peak, 6.3+/-5.1 ng/ml vs 15.8+/-14.2 ng/ml, F=10.3, df=1, 50, P=0.002). Moreover, GH peak responses to apomorphine did not differ between depressed patients with a high lethal lifetime suicide attempt history and patients who made low lethal lifetime suicide attempt. In conclusion, the results of the present study support a role for dopamine in the biology of suicidal behaviour. More specifically, an impaired GH response to apomorphine could be a marker of suicide risk.
Disciplines :
Psychiatry
Author, co-author :
Pitchot, William ; Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Liège - CHU > Psychiatrie et psychologie médicale
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th ed., APA, Washington, DC; 1994.
Ansseau M., Doumont A., Legros J.J. (1982) Evidence for a catecholaminergic deficiency in primary depression by means of specific neuroendocrine tests. Joint meeting of the Association Française de Psychiatrie Biologique and of the British Association for Psychopharmacology, Paris; .
Ansseau M., Scheyvaerts M., Doumont A., Poirrier R., Legros J.J., Franck G. (1984) Concurrent use of REM latency, dexamethasone suppression, clonidine, and apomorphine tests as biological markers of endogenous depression: A pilot study. Psychiat Res. 12:261-272.
Arranz B., Blennow K., Eriksson A., Mansson J.E., Marcusson J. (1997) Serotonergic, noradrenergic, and dopaminergic measures in suicide brains. Biol. Psychiatry 41:1000-1009.
Asberg M. (1997) Neurotransmitters and suicidal behavior: The evidence from cerebrospinal fluid studies. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 836:158-181.
Bowden C., Cheetham S.C., Lowther S., Katona C.L.E., Crompton M.R., Horton R.W. (1997) Reduced dopamine turnover in the basal ganglia of depressed suicides. Brain Res. 769:135-140.
Crow T.J., Cross A.J., Cooper S.J., Deakin J.F., Ferrier I.N., Johnson J.A., Joseph M.H., Owe F., Poulter M., Lofthouse R. (1984) Neurotransmitter receptors and monoamine metabolites in the brains of patients with Alzheimer-type dementia and depression and suicides. Neuropsychopharmacology 23:1561-1569.
Engström G., Alling C., Blennow K., Regnéll G., Träskman-Bendz L. (1999) Reduced cerebrospinal HVA concentrations and HVA/5-HIAA ratios in suicide attempters. Monoamine metabolites in 120 suicide attempters and 47 controls. Eur. Neuropsychopharmacol. 9:399-405.
Franchimont P. (1968) Le dosage radioimmunologique de l'hormone de croissance humaine. Cah. Med. Lyonnais 44:887-898.
Goodwin F.K., Jamison K.R. Manic-Depressive Illness , Oxford University Press, New York and Oxford; 1990, 416-502.
Hamilton M. (1960) A rating scale for depression. J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiat. 23:56-62.
Laakmann G. Psychopharmacoendocrinology and Depression Research, Springer-Verlag, Berlin; 1990.
Mann J.J., Malone K.M. (1997) Cerebrospinal fluid amines and higher-lethality suicide attempts in depressed inpatients. Biol. Psychiatry 41:162-171.
Mann J.J., Stoff D.M. (1997) A synthesis of curent findings regarding neurobiological correlates and treatment of suicidal behavior. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 836:352-363.
Ohmori T., Arora R.C., Meltzer H.Y. (1992) Serotonergic measures in suicide brain: The concentration of 5-HIAA, HVA, and tryptophan in frontal cortex of suicide victims. Biol. Psychiatry 32:57-71.
Pandey G.N. (1997) Altered serotonin function in suicide: Evidence from platelet and neuroendocrine studies. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 836:182-200.
Pitchot W., Hansenne M., Gonzalez Moreno A., Ansseau M. (1992) Suicidal behavior and growth hormone response to apomorphine test. Biol. Psychiatry 31:1213-1219.
Pitchot W., Hansenne M., Gonzalez Moreno A., Ansseau M. (1995) Effect of previous antidepressant therapy on the growth hormone response to apomorphine. Neuropsychobiology 32:19-22.
Pitchot W., Reggers J., Pinto E., Hansenne M., Fuchs S., Pirard S., Ansseau M. (2001) Reduced dopaminergic activity in depressed suicides. Psychoneuroendocrinology 26:331-335.
Roy A., Agren H., Pickar D., Linnoila M., Doran A.R., Cutler N.R., Paul S.M. (1986) Reduced CSF concentrations of homovanillic acid and homovanillic acid to 5-hydroxyindolacetic acid ratios in depressed patients: Relationship to suicidal behavior and dexamethasone nonsuppression. Am. J. Psychiatry 143:1539-1545.
Roy A., De Jong J., Linnoila M. (1989) Cerebrospinal fluid monoamine metabolites and suicidal behavior in depressed patients: A 5-years follow-up study. Arch. Gen. Psychiatry 46:609-612.
Schittecatte M., Charles G., Machowski R., Wilmotte (1989) Tricyclic wash-out and growth hormone response to clonidine. Br. J. Psychiatry 154:858-863.
Spitzer R.L., Endicott J. Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (SADS), 3rd ed., New York State Psychiatric Institute, Biometrics Research, New York; 1977.
Träskman-Bendz L., Asberg M., Bertilsson L., Sjöstrand L. (1981) Monoamine metabolites in CSF and suicidal behavior. Arch. Gen. Psychiatry 38:631-636.
Träskman-Bendz L., Alling C., Alsén M., Regnéll G., Simonsson P., Öhman R. (1993) The role of monoamines in suicidal behavior. Acta Psychiatr. Scand. 371:45-47.