Growing evidence suggests a partial genetic determination of suicide predisposition, with most studies focusing on serotonergic genes. Inconsistent results have characterized the serotonin transporter (5-HTT) gene, whereas few studies have investigated the recently discovered brain specific tryptophan hydroxylase 2 (TPH2) gene. At the same time, most of these studies have not controlled for associated psychopathology, an important confounder. Therefore, association studies were conducted to investigate the role of the 5-HTT and TPH2 genes in suicide susceptibility in the context of major depression and their effect on impulsive-aggressive behaviors (IABs), a possible intermediate phenotype. Finally, suicide predictors were investigated while controlling for genetic, clinical and behavioral risk factors. Certain 5-HTT and TPH2 genetic variants were significantly implicated in the vulnerability to suicide, however, no effect on levels of IABs was observed. Genetic and clinical suicide predictors were identified while controlling for other risk factors. Further studies in larger samples are necessary to replicate these findings and detect possible small genetic effects.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.111929 |
| Date | January 2005 |
| Creators | Lopez de Lara Gutierrez, Catalina. |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Science (Department of Human Genetics.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 002330694, proquestno: AAIMR24725, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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