Genetic markers of suicidal ideation proposed

Researchers from NIH's National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School and colleagues reported in the American Journal of Psychiatry that two SNPs within the GRIK2 and GRIA3 genes were significantly associated with treatment-emergent suicidal ideation in patients receiving citalopram. The study interrogated 68 genes considered likely to be involved with outcomes of antidepressant treatment and compared allele and genotype frequencies in 120 patients who developed treatment-emergent suicidal ideation with 1,742 patients who did not. The authors said unpublished data showed no difference in allele or genotype frequencies at either SNP in patients who had a history of suicide attempts or reported suicidal ideation at their first visit prior to treatment. All patients were enrolled in the Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression (STAR*D) trial. ...