A New Study Reveals Some Biomarkers May Identify Suicide Risk

(Newswire.net — November 19, 2020) Orlando, FL — Mental health care providers have long been warning against brain health issues like depression. As the rates of this condition continue to soar, more and more experts are looking into some ways to reduce its prevalence and prevent suicide. 

A study has found that in people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), there may potentially be a biomarker for suicidal thoughts.

In the United States, there is an estimated 7 to 8 percent of individuals with PTSD. These include sexual assault survivors and military veterans. 

Experts warn that individuals with PTSD compared to the average population are significantly more likely to make a suicide attempt. It is worth noting that major depressive disorder (MDD) is one of the conditions found to increase the risk of suicide.

The study was carried out by the researchers from the Yale University in the U.S.

The study authors suggest that suicidal thoughts are linked to higher levels of metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5) in people with PTSD, but not those with MDD.

According to Irina Esterlis, PhD, it’s important for clinicians to understand that you can’t just treat PTSD like depression.

Esterlis is lead author of the new study and an associate professor in the department of psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine.

“There could be some common mechanisms underlying these disorders but also some different ones, so we need to figure out what works best for these individuals,” she added.

PTSD is usually addressed through therapies and the use of certain medications. However, it is worth mentioning that there are also some therapeutic ingredients like curcumin found to work wonders in fighting its symptoms. 

According to researchers, this active compound in turmeric called curcumin has been able to demonstrate its ability to alleviate depression symptoms. It actually offers various health benefits, such as its ability to enhance cognitive function.

In a recent study, curcumin has been found to fight the symptoms linked with PTSD.

Glenne Schafe, PhD, a psychology professor at Hunter College in New York City, carried out a study involving rates.

According to Schafe, it showed that rats freely fed a diet enriched with curcumin had impaired encoding of fear memories.

In this research, they looked into the effects of curcumin in an animal model of traumatic memory formation in PTSD.

“We also showed that rats with a pre-existing fear memory can lose that memory when it is recalled while they are eating a curcumin-enriched diet,” Schafe added. 

This essentially means that curcumin was able to impair the formation of fear memories in the brain following a traumatic experience.

It is worth realizing that there are actually many health benefits linked with the use of this natural remedy. It is widely used nowadays via the use of formulas like VitaBreeze Curcumin (http://amazon.com/Turmeric-Curcumin-Complex-Pepper-Extract/dp/B00JA4TLTI/).